Freedom
by everythingwasblue
Summary: Judy Hopps has always hated predators, ever since she was young. Lucky for her, they're forced to wear collars, and to help protect society from their possible wrath, she joins the police force. However, when she's forced to team up with a predator in order to save Zootopia, she's faced with one question: are all predators truly bad? (WildeHopps later on. T for some violence.)
1. Chapter 1 - Cruel World

Judy Hopps had never realized how fortunate she was when she was first born. She never realized, when she was barely a toddler gandering up at her mother and father who amused her with a carrot-shaped rattle, that she was one of the more fortunate species of animals. She had the life of luxury and she enjoyed it to the fullest in her first few years of life with no thought of the difference between prey and predator.

Her whole world was the farm her parents owned and nothing beyond that concerned her young head. She lived a careless life, and the only thing she had to worry about at night was falling asleep. Her ignorance to the world outside of her family's farm did not last for very long, but in the years that it did Judy Hopps did not know what her fate would be. The small, bright-eyed bunny would never imagine that the outside world would ever throw a monkey wrench into her plans of becoming a farmer just like her parents, and her parents would never have suspected that she would leave their farm. Judy's parents soon learned that when their eldest daughter had a goal to accomplish, there was no stopping her from accomplishing it. Once her mind was set on becoming a cop, there was nothing they could do to throw her off the path of her dream.

The first steps that Judy Hopps took as she got off her train were breathtaking for her. Ever since she was a young bunny, she had wanted to become a part of the Zootopia Police Force, and here she was, living out that dream. Her parents had begged her to stop and to stay with them and her nearly three hundred siblings, but this was something she had to do for herself. Judy had a reason to become a cop, she'd found it at a young age, and now she was here, walking through the streets of Zootopia to get to her apartment.

Judy looked up at the small apartment building that stood in front of her. She waited patiently for the landlord, who was supposed to be waiting around for her to arrive. Judy neatly held her luggage in front of her, which consisted of two small suitcases. She turned her head when from the corner of her bright, purple eye, she caught the outline of an armadillo.

"Judy Hopps, right?" there was an unamused look on the armadillo's face, two judging eyes behind her glasses.

"That would be me." Judy said, not caring for her attitude but stopping herself from being snappy back. Her landlord stared for a moment and then turned. The rabbit was lead up a short flight of stairs to the doors of the apartment building.

"These are your keys for unlocking the front door and your own door."

Judy looked down at the small key ring in-between her paws as she was lead down the hall. She glanced up and began to unlock the door when she heard the voice of the landlord a few moments later.

"So you're a police officer?"

Judy unlocked the door, and turned her head. She knew that it was big news, and the mayor had been there to congratulate her, but she hadn't thought many people in the city would know about it.

"Yeah. Graduated top of my class."

The rabbit wasn't one for boasting, but she felt proud of herself enough to say it.

"So are you one of those no collar activists?"

Judy felt herself freeze up at the unexpected topic-changing question. She suddenly felt herself become nervous as she turned, and seeing the tiny eyes of the landlord watching her over her shoulder only made her feel worse. Judy didn't want to lie, so she was only honest.

"No. Predators should always have to wear collars. I mean, they're dangerous. I know not all of them can be bad but with my luck, I'll always run into the bad ones."

The landlord nodded at her words. Judy swore she could see a small smile cross her face, as if she approved of what the short rabbit was saying. After that, she disappeared back down the hallway and left Judy to her apartment.

The grey-furred rabbit locked the door behind her upon entering and placed down her suitcases, taking in the small view of her humble abode. In one leap she threw herself backwards onto her bed. Her purple eyes watched the ceiling as she felt perfectly content, stretching out her arms.

Even many years later Judy did not fully appreciate how lucky she was to have been born a prey instead of a predator.

* * *

A few hours later Judy could hardly wait to start her job in the morning. She was laying in her bed, watching the news and hugging onto her pillow.

"Today, a predator has been taken into custody. Not enough info has been released so we don't know how this happened, but apparently he had escaped from his collar and was on the loose downtown. He was tazed and captured shortly after by the ZPD. We interviewed some bystanders, and this is what they had to say."

The screen darkened a little, then lit up again. A microphone was being held to the mouth of a camel, who looked at whoever he was being interviewed by.

"I was jogging along and minding my own business when I see this vicious creature race past me. He nearly knocked me off my feet, the brute!"

The screen flashed again to an elephant, a younger one next to her.

"My brother and I saw the wolf and were horrified that he had no collar on. There needs to be new security on collars everywhere, because I mean, what if that guy had hurt my brother? He was smiling like a psycho!"

The screen switched again. Judy was surprised to see a predator being interviewed, and her heart rose in her throat a little to see it was a fox. If there was any predator Judy couldn't stand, it was foxes. They were sneaky, mean and not trustworthy at all. She just frowned, staring at the screen.

The fox didn't say anything for a moment as he adjusted the tie he was wearing. He looked into the camera, shrugging.

"It looked like he was having fun to me."

Judy felt disturbed by this answer as the news cast came back on. Judy didn't want to be. . . one of _those_ rabbits, but when something scary happens, like a collarless wolf being on the loose, it might be a good idea, at least in her opinion, to avoid interviewing another predator.

She reached for the remote and shut the news off, curling up in her blanket. It was going to be a long first day in the morning. 

* * *

To be honest, I had different plans for how I would start chapter one. I feel like this chapter is extremely rushed but I really wanted to get started on a story.

I got the idea after digging up some info on what Zootopia was originally going to be like. All the predators were supposed to wear collars and were feared very much by the public, so I couldn't just sit by and not write a story about that!


	2. Chapter 2 - Defective

Judy had woken up at the crack of dawn, excitement nearly keeping her from a full night of rest. She had gotten dressed in a dash, definitely did not forget to make breakfast and was ready in a few minutes. Judy made way for the door, pulling it open, a grin on her face that she didn't realize was there.

That's when she paused, and turned to the small end table that rested next to the door, her nose twitching. She looked at her fox-spray as she reached for her keys, deciding whether or not to take the pepper spray with her. She shook her head, going to walk out, but chickened out last second and grabbed it anyway despite herself not wanting to be _that_ rabbit.

She left her apartment feeling a bit puffed out about her position. Even if no one noticed how enthusiastic she was, she didn't really care. Though Judy could not hide the truth from herself that being a cop made her proud. This city needed more people to be defending it desperately. It needed to be defended from _predators_. Judy frowned a little in irritation when she remembered the night before as she watched the news. That fox was an image she couldn't get out of her head for some reason, and she had no idea why. It really bothered her how he had been so casual about a could-be killer running on the loose.

 _Who am I kidding? It's a predator, he doesn't get it._

Judy had finally reached her destination by bus, her purple eyes the size of saucers as she stood in front of the police station. Her heart was pounding, and she really thought that she might explode if she didn't calm down. She's been waiting for this nearly her whole life! Of course she was trembling with excitement!

In an attempt to actually look relaxed among the other cops she looked down for a moment, pretending to fiddle with her shirt. She waited until her breath had steadied before she looked up and entered the ZPD headquarters.

Judy's fists were balled with determination as she unconsciously tried to look big in front of the large animals around her. She was the only one here that was. . . well, _small_. The police force consisted of bulky predators and other larger prey. She didn't let that get to her head as she walked up to the counter. Judy looked up curiously, noticing that no one was there.

"Uh. . . hello!"

She called out. Her ears twitched when she could hear noise coming from behind the desk. Being too short to see up there, she leapt up, scrabbling onto the top. She felt her mouth open a little to see the face of a predator staring at her, who obviously had been too engrossed in his phone to hear her a second ago. He seemed surprised too to see that she was standing on top of the counter and still barely as tall as he was. There was an awkward period of silence as he slid his phone away.

"Oh, my, gosh!" he suddenly burst, and Judy leapt back onto the ground. The cheetah leaned over, a smile on his face. "You're so cute and little!"

Judy felt embarrassment wash over her and she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh, thanks. . ." she honestly wasn't sure how to respond. Judy noticed that this wasn't one of those sneaky, snarky predators. He was like a big ball of fluff. She'd kept an eye on the collar around his neck, which had a small light that slowly was blinking green. It was true that Judy couldn't stand predators, but the few like him were an exception. So she smiled back, placing a hand on her hip.

"So uh, I guess you need my name, right?" Judy asked.

"No, we've been expecting you. I mean, Chief Bogo hasn't been too ecstatic about having a rabbit on our-"

The cheetah's paws dove straight for his own mouth, and he looked down at her. "I mean. . . there's been a lot of tension recently."

Judy looked up, an unamused expression on her face.

"It's fine, I get it. I'm small and all, but I pack a punch."

"I like your attitude." he said from where he was sitting behind a computer screen, a box of cereal not far off from it. "Well Judy, the schedule says you're supposed to be in that room over there."

He pointed to a blue door on the far end of the room.

"Thanks," she paused for a second, squinting to see his nametag, "Clawhauser."

"No problem!"

Judy looked back as he waved, and she just smiled a bit to herself. Well, at least predators like him existed, right? She was in a good mood right before she entered the door, to which she immediately was confronted.

"You're late, Hopps."

In Judy's eyes, Chief Bogo was probably one of the scariest prey there was, and she knew that he had a reputation for being tough to his police force. He looked down at her with piercing, degrading eyes. She swallowed back her sudden uneasiness and went to take a seat. She took in the small room, which was filled with predator and prey alike, all working together for the same cause: to end the crimes of Zootopia.

A clacking sound caught Judy's attention. Bogo was tapping on the wall behind him. Judy waited patiently for him to assign her somewhere, feeling disappointment cover her like a blanket when most of the cases were given out, and only a few remained.

It came down to the point where she was the last one in the room. Judy opened her mouth to ask if she was dismissed or anything, because Bogo was just standing up there and staring down at some papers.

"Hopps," he spoke suddenly, startling her, "you've got a special case."

"O-oh, really?" Judy stammered, a toothy smile on her face. She was excited about the sudden opportunity. It clearly must've been important if she had been the one chosen to do it.

"I'm giving it to you because you have the skills needed to complete it."

Her ears drooped at that statement as she suddenly felt anxious. He left the room and she followed suit, feeling nervous about what she would have to do. Was she truly ready to go out into the field? She was getting too paranoid.

"Stay outside and only come in when I tell you."

Bogo gave her that belittling stare before he walked in to his office, closing the door behind him. She did as she was told, holding her paws behind her back and sighing a little. This wasn't how she had expected her first day to go. She stood there and waited for about ten minutes before the door opened back up. Her eyes narrowed a little when she saw an otter walk out. She didn't even notice Judy was standing there as she left wordlessly.

"Hopps." she turned to see Bogo hovering over her, and she followed him into the office. "There's been something going on, you see. With the predator collars. You know how they are switched out once a year, correct?"

He started, sitting down. Judy nodded as she walked up to the desk. "The new ones that were assigned a few months ago have been defective."

Judy did a doubletake.

"Wait, what?"

"This is one of the first victims of the collar malfunctions."

Bogo slid a paper off the desk, where Judy grabbed it swiftly. She looked down, her eyes widening in shock to see the photo of another otter; neck scorched and fur being badly burned off on certain parts of his neck.

"T-that's awful." Judy stammered. "But what's happening?"

"Well, Hopps, you're surely educated on collars. Why don't you tell me what you think is happening?"

"Uh. . ." Judy trailed off nervously. His stare burning into her wasn't helping her think any quicker, and some of her old teachers didn't even make her this scared to talk. "Well," she started, "the collars detect the emotion of the predators. . . when the color is green, it means the animal is perfectly calm and happy. The yellow means on edge, and slow red blinking is usually when the warning shock goes off. If the blinking turns rapid then. . . the real shock triggers for five seconds. So. . . I'm assuming that they go for longer than five seconds?"

Chief Bogo gave a simple nod, hands folded together.

Judy's blood ran cold at the idea of this.

"B-but. . . that's crazy. It could kill them." Judy said.

"So Hopps, you'll be in charge of solving this case. You're the perfect one to go since you're new and this is an easy job." Chief Bogo said simply.

"But I want a challenge, Chief. To prove to you that I'm not just some token bunny." His eyes narrowed.

"Would you rather be on parking duty?" Judy shrunk on the inside, shaking her head. "So allow me to continue what I was trying to say. Your skills that you showed at your police school is just what we need here in this type of case, and that's why I've chosen you for it. Mrs. Otterton who just left was not very happy about what happened to her husband and other predators are starting to get worried about being electrocuted for no good reason. It's probably just an accidental malfunction but just in the off chance that it isn't, we need a cop to go figure out what's going on at the Collar Factory."

"A few days to solve an entire case that could endanger all those predators?" Judy nearly scoffed. "I mean, what if I have to get information out of predators and they refuse to? What would I do then?"

"First of all, I think they will, unless they're stupid and want to get themselves hurt from their own collars in the near future. Second, I don't think that predators would work at the Collar Factory if they're somewhat sane. Third, it is quite obvious you have a problem with predators." Chief Bogo said, standing now. He slowly walked out from behind his desk. "Look around, Hopps, this establishment is crawling with predators who are more capable of doing things than you are. You need to prove to me by solving this case that you're just as capable as they are, and that you won't let those little feelings of yours get in the way of your job."

Judy felt her ears flatten, and she felt anger rise up in her chest.

"Are you trying to sabotage me so that I purposely fail at this case?"

"Drop the attitude, Hopps. Don't be mad at me simply because I'm right about how you feel."

"I mean. . . does it really matter if I hate predators?"

Bogo groaned, as if he felt that everything he had just said to her hadn't computed.

"Well, it could possible put your dream job on the line if you don't learn how to cope with being around predators. But I'm not handing you this case because I feel the need to subject you to doing something you don't feel like doing, I'm doing it because I know that you're more clever than what you look like. We need someone who's small that can fit through the holes where our big guys can't reach. And the main reason you graduated top of your class is because you're _clever_ and think around things."

Bogo walked over to the door, opening it. "I will admit that our predator force members can be very intimidating, so somebody who isn't intimidating is more fit for the job rather than hunting down other predators."

Well, Judy couldn't argue there. He sighed.

"I'm sure this case won't be very complex, Hopps. It's probably a mistake in wiring or something simple. I just need a cop to go there and tell them to fix the situation and repair all the collars, or just get new ones. If it's suspicious, I need you to figure out what's going on. That's your mission."

"I won't let you down Chief. I promise I'll try my hardest, but please give me a few more days to finish this."

Bogo stared down at her, his arms crossed.

"You have five days to come up with collective information that sounds sane."

Judy had the door closed on her face, to which she stomped her foot, thumping it rapidly at what had just happened in the office. She just sighed, and looked down at the photo of the injured otter that she was still holding. Judy pictured herself in that situation. . . wearing a ticking time bomb around her neck that would nearly kill her if she got mad enough.

She easily became determined to solve the case as she turned around, walking for the front doors.

* * *

And so it begins. . .  
Thanks guys for the reviews, favs and follows! I'm glad to see people are interested in this story!


	3. Chapter 3 - Big And Bad

Judy had taken one of the cop cars to the establishment of the Collar Factory. She felt sort of uncomfortable to go in such a place, especially when they were making. . . _collars_. Her small paws hugged onto the wheel before she sighed deeply, knowing she had no choice. It wasn't going to take long, just a quick interview and she'd be on her way.

With that in mind Judy left the vehicle parked outside the dark-looking factory. There was five Collar Factory locations, and this one was one of the biggest ones. It loomed over her in the setting-sun sky, and she looked back. The parking lot was mostly empty besides the exception of a few cars. She pulled one door open and entered, looking around. It was a small room with double doors that would lead to the back, where Judy assumed the factory was. Where she was, she realized, was a small waiting area. Judy frowned when she saw a zebra at the front desk talking to a fox.

Judy felt something inside of her boil a little when she saw him there, feeling her ears flatten. She and his species had been enemies for millions of years, and that fact bothered her greatly. Judy just sighed, and straightened. She couldn't be thrown off by one animal.

"Are you serious?"

Judy had just walked up, hearing the conversation going on between the zebra and fox.

"I'm completely serious."

"So you're telling me that I could basically die at any moment, but you refuse to do anything."

"I told you, sir. I'm not the one in charge."

Judy had walked up beside him, waiting patiently. She was aware they were talking about the collar incidents that were now rising in number. According to the file Bogo gave her, there was forty-two other incidents where animals had been electrocuted by their collars, and the news had covered it multiple times. She knew that tensions were high, especially now.

"Excuse me," Judy decided to intervene before things got out of hand. The fox looked down at her, and she had to suppress a gasp. She recognized him as the one on the television the other night. Her eyebrows knit together in annoyance and she looked back up to the desk, focusing on the task at hand rather than getting sidetracked. "I'm here to talk to your manager."

The zebra looked down, his eyes landing on Judy, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't have time to pretend play cops and robbers, kid."

She swore she could hear a small snicker from the fox beside her as anger flared up inside of her.

In one swift jump, she was up on the desk, standing tall in front of the zebra, who had an annoyed expression on his face.

"Excuse me," she said again, firmly, "I'm Judy Hopps from the Zootopia Police Department, and I don't want to have a problem here. I was just coming to speak to your boss."

"The second you get your feet off the desk, I'll see what I can do." the zebra stared at her, his eyes half-lidded.

She leapt back from the desk, watching as he left. Judy smirked to herself a little, crossing her arms.

"Pretty impressive, fluff. I think you nearly scared the pants off that guy."

Judy's eyes slowly looked toward the fox beside her.

"Judy Hopps to you." she glared at him. He snorted.

"There's no need to act big and bad. I don't plan on hospitalizing myself today."

"Big and bad?" Judy laughed. "You sure you aren't talking about yourself?"

The fox kept level-headed, simply beginning to laugh much to Judy's disappointment that she hadn't bothered him at all.

"Maybe."

The door opened up again after a few minutes of silence between the rabbit and fox, and out walked the same zebra, except another was with him. She was pretty, wearing the grey uniform that the rest of the animals-presumably-wore in the factory. Her black mane was long and flowy, and she had big, blue eyes.

"Someone wanted to meet me?" she prompted, looking at the predator and prey who stood side by side. Upon seeing the fox she seemed to hesitate, but just smiled. She looked to Judy, who seemed to alarm her. "Can I help you?"

"I just have some questions." Judy tried to clear up. The zebra just nodded, before looking back up to the fox. "I'm sorry, but business hours are now over. But you can have an appointment to talk to me made for another day."

Judy walked past him, hearing him groan in frustration.

She almost had the temptation to stick her tongue out at him, but with her position that would be frowned upon. So, she refrained. The second they entered the double doors Judy was blown away by the view.

No, it wasn't beautiful or anything like that. It was just such a huge factory. Judy knew the ZPD Headquarters were giant, but that building couldn't hold a candle to this massive one. The clanking of machinery echoed in Judy's ears, causing her head to ache.

"You had questions for me, officer? I'm Trine."

"I'm Judy Hopps. Yes, well, there's been a number of incidents regarding the predator collars."

They began to cross over a grate bridge that lead to the other side of the building, where another pair of doors were. She looked around, seeing there was quite a few of these on different levels, and they were probably created for easy pathways back and forth through such a huge place without having to walk through all the machines.

Judy looked over, seeing the many machines down below them. Down there they groaned and worked, putting unfinished collars on conveyer belts, putting imprints into finished collars, and setting up the wiring for future collars.

"They've been malfunctioning, as you can see." Judy pulled a picture of the burn marks out from her pocket. The zebra looked down, examining it in shock.

"Miss Hopps, malfunctioning? That's terrible! The CEO should've been informed of this." Trine said in horror.

"I know. I've wanted to talk to the CEO but I figured I would come here first. Has anything been strange lately in the factory? You know, or maybe some of the employees have been acting up?"

"Oh, not really, everything's been. . ."

The two animals jumped as they heard a loud slam and crackling. Both of them stared at one another and then ran to the edge of the grating, staring over. Judy's eyes widened when she saw one of the machines going haywire. The machine had one long arm, most likely used to imprint the company logo into the collars. Sparks flew off of it as it suddenly stopped, and caught fire.

"Oh, really? That looks fine to you?!" Judy demanded in sudden fear as she backed away.

"This isn't good." Trine noted, terror written on her face. There was an announcement overhead that echoed throughout the huge machine room.

" _All employees to Room #628, I repeat, Room #628. The building is on fire._ "

After that, the voice just continued to play over and over.

"Officer, we have to go! Come on!"

"Right!" Judy and her both started to run for the door which they came out of. The grating on the bridge was not made for a rabbit's small paws. As a result, one of Judy's paws fell straight through the grating, and she fell forward, letting out a cry of shock. She looked back, trying to tug her foot free, but to no avail. In a panic, she glanced over, seeing the fire climbing up the distant walls.

Her terror absorbed her as she tried to loosen her ankle in any possible way to get out of danger. She looked up to see that Trine had turned back, but another zebra was pushing her out.

"Wait!" Judy cried out, scrabbling at the grating, still trying to pull herself free. She looked down through the many holes of the grating to see that the red flames had eaten up most of the machines by now.

"Someone! Anyone!" the rabbit called out desperately. Her ankle ankle had turned red and had begun to ache from trying to pull it out. The minutes had ticked by, and still no one was coming to her aid. The fire was so hot she could feel it herself, even from where she was. In the upper half of the factory where more of these grate bridges were, the fire had already consumed most of one of them.

Judy, still struggling, looked up just in time to see it falling. It crashed with the loudest bang the grey rabbit had probably ever heard. Flames and ashes became airborne. Judy's thoughts were scattered around inside of her head.

 _This is how I'm going to die._

She looked back to see that on the other edge of the bridge, the fire was creeping close to it. It wouldn't be long before the whole bridge was alighted now. Judy's tears were hot as they ran down her face.

That's when suddenly something grabbed onto her paw. It scared her half to death because she hadn't expected it, but she looked up. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Carrots, don't just lay there! Get up!"

 _The fox_. His green eyes looked past her. She was too overwhelmed to explain why she couldn't move, and thankfully for her he was easy to figure it out on his own. He moved around her, and she could feel him grab onto her ankle. It hurt, but in one strong tear, her ankle was free.

With no question the fox swiftly lifted her into his arms. She stared, tears streaming from her eyes.

"W-why? I insulted you." she asked shakily. He didn't pay attention to her question as he turned his head. Judy glanced, seeing that the whole other side of the bridge was consumed by flames. He cursed under his breath before he started to run.

"Because even though you're just a stupid bunny doesn't mean you have to die!" he said. She had hardly noticed she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. She just wanted to get out of there.

Out of nowhere, the bridge began to collapse. Because of this, the stranger lost his balance, but got a hold on the grating as the other end collapsed. Both of them screamed, and Judy held onto him for dear life as their end swung downward. With a violent slam, the part they were on smashed into the nearby wall, and it hung in the air. The bridge now was vertical to the ground, the other half still on fire.

"Well, this didn't go as planned." he said, looking down. "Alright fluff, you go up. I'll be right there with you."

Judy looked up. The top of the bridge and safety were only a few feet of climbing away.

"O-okay!" Judy shouted over the loud clang as the other end of the bridge fell into the floor. With determination she pulled herself up, using the holes in the grating as paw holds. The bridge still swung in midair, making the whole thing more treacherous.

Just as Judy had made it to the top, the bridge once more, which had previously been swinging away from the wall, came back to hit the wall again, making the whole thing shake violently a second time. She held on, letting out a scream of surprise. Then, she looked down to make sure the fox was alright, but that's when her heart leapt into her throat.

He'd most likely lost his footing, and was now plummeting to the ground. Without thinking, Judy, who was already in the clear, leapt off, hoping she could possibly reach him in time. She saw this as almost impossible because he was already about to hit the ground by the time her paw reached his. At the last second, she interlocked it, and closed her eyes.

Unexpectedly as they slammed into the ground, it broke beneath them. She cried out as the two of them tumbled down a staircase.

When the ordeal was over, Judy forced open her eyes, seeing in double vision. What was this room? There was a small light on; someone had been here not long ago. A number of books and testing equipment sat on a small table at the other end of the room. She stood, her ankle roaring with pain. Some splinters were on her shirt as she pat them off.

Had the two of them just found a secret room? The rest of the floor had to be metal, there was no way that it wasn't. The floor would've crashed through if anything had fallen on it. But by chance, by miracle they had fallen through the only square of wood floor in the whole place.

Judy then turned to see the flames engulfing the entrance of the staircase. Her rescuer had been knocked out, most likely from the fall. He had taken the brunt of it and Judy had bounced off him, which was the only reason she was awake.

She grabbed onto his arms, dragging him away from the stairs, cringing at her bad ankle. She looked around the room, desperately trying to find some way to get out. That's when she found it.

There was a small, dirty window in the corner of the room. Hurriedly limping, she dragged the unconscious fox with her. She grabbed on her ear mic, shouting into it.

"This is officer Hopps! I'm stuck in some sort of basement in Collar Factory facility 3 with a victim! T-the fire is closing in on us."

The fear was practically sewn into her voice. She jumped up, slamming onto the window with her fist in any attempt to break it, but she saw it. It was unlocked. She pulled it up with ease, breathing in relief. At that point, the smoke was getting too much for her. She was tempted to run out and leave, but she looked back at the fox who had decided to save her life. She turned back to pull him out with her, but everything was dizzy.

Judy's vision started to black as she held onto the edge of the window, collapsing onto the ground but never feeling the impact of it as she passed out.

* * *

Well... never too early for a lot of action, right?  
Sorry if it's a bit sloppy. While I was writing I found it hard to describe what was actually happening with the bridges, haha. But I think it makes enough sense!

Also, can I just say right now that I am completely hyped for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel?

But anyways-thank you guys so much for following, faving and reviewing! It really makes me happy to see that people are starting to enjoy this story!


	4. Chapter 4 - Rabbit's Luck

Judy woke up with a gasp. She felt the sheets beneath her and grabbed onto them to reassure herself she wasn't dreaming.

She looked beside her, seeing a small table where flowers, cards and different get well balloons were resting.

Being stuck in the grating and that nameless fox coming to save her was one of the most unreal moments of Judy's whole life. She truly thought she was going to die. Then, the thought of him popped into her head, and she wondered if he was okay. He was most definitely worse off than she was. After all, he had taken the blunt of the fall into the secret room and had breathed in as much smoke as she did.

With this thought in mind she leaned up, moving to take the oxygen mask off her face.

"Judy!"

The rabbit almost jumped clean out of her fur when she heard her mother's familiar voice yell unexpectedly.

"Mom?" Judy asked, genuinely in shock as her mother ran forward to wrap her arms around her.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Mom. . . how long was I asleep?"

Judy practically ignored her mother's affection and wasn't looking forward to the future response to this question.

"Three days."

The rabbit felt her heart sink at those words. The cop's paws gripped the sheets tightly.

"And what of the fox?" she asked nervously. Bonnie eyes darted to the ground before she looked back up. This made Judy feel scared for a brief moment before she answered.

"He lived, sweetheart. Why?"

"Oh," Judy let out a sigh of relief, "because he saved my life."

"What?" Bonnie was surprised, and a look of disbelief surpassed her face.

"I don't know what he was thinking. Literally minutes before he saved my life I insulted him." Judy said anxiously. She really didn't know what possessed that fox to go in like that and risk his life. It perplexed her beyond belief. Judy dragged a paw down her face.

"Do you know where he is?" she asked, preparing to get off her bed. She hardly noticed the concerned and confused look on her mother's face.

"Judy, you just woke up, you need to rest." Bonnie pushed her back, but she was persistent.

Judy stood on her two feet. Her ankle felt sore, but it wasn't much to handle. "Judy."

The rabbit, who was already closing in on the door looked back at her mother.

"Yeah?"

Her mother looked at her sadly, and shook her head.

"Never mind. He's down the hall. Room #105."

Judy's nose twitched a little as she looked back ahead, opening the door. She felt anxiety climb up and down her spine. What could she possibly say? She just took in a deep breath and promised herself she would stay calm and collected as she slowly walked to the door.

Judy waited briefly, thinking of how she could form her thoughts into words as she knocked and pushed open the door, looking up.

"Hey, carrots."

Judy slowly creeped up when she saw he was awake. He had the same expression on his face that he had had on the television, and the same from when they first encountered each other inside of the waiting room of the factory. The half-lidded tired somewhat smirking look, Judy figured, was his resting face.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, standing next to the side of the bed. His head was bandaged, and the fur around his cheeks and ears were somewhat singed. She realized that she must've looked the same way. "I don't know how I can thank you enough. I mean, you saved me despite the differences between us. I don't even know your name."

He just shrugged a little.

"No problem, fluff. To be honest I probably would've just kept going home had I not overheard them talking about how you were inside."

"B-but you almost died! I mean. . . I owe my life to you." Judy said it quieter. The fox seemed to search her face before his smirk seemed to get a little bigger. He seemed to ignore her comment as he replied.

"You should really watch where you're running next time."

Judy opened her mouth, ready to spew some kind of retort at him when her breath caught in her throat. She'd realized that his collar was off of his neck.

Maybe she had seemed scared, because a moment later the fox raised an eyebrow at her, and almost understood once he saw where she was staring. An unamused look settled on his face.

"They were worried it would act up, so they took it off."

Judy tried to hide her discomfort and attempted to uphold a straight face.

"No kidding. Those collars suck."

"That's why they're all getting recalled."

"They're what?" Judy asked in shock. The fox sighed good-naturedly.

"C'mon, I'm the one with the concussion here, not you. You slept forever didn't you?"

Judy felt a sense of relief to hear that they were all being recalled.

"Oh, so I guess that settles that." She said to herself. The case would probably be dropped, much to her disappointment. She had really wanted to prove herself to Chief Bogo that she was just as capable as everyone else. But she figured that soon another opportunity would arise.

She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as there was silence between them. Her purple eyes glanced up, almost shyly.

"You uh. . . said you had a concussion? Are you okay?" she asked. Judy had never experienced the feeling of concern for a predator before. She didn't really like it that much if she was honest with herself. Immediately after thinking this, she scolded herself mentally.

"Well, not really. It seems like rabbits landing square on your head can kind of hurt somebody."

Judy's ears drooped at his statement, because he did sound pretty serious about it. But a moment later, another one of those stupid smirks crossed his face. "Lighten up, carrots. You're one of those emotional bunnies, can't you tell when somebody's being sarcastic?"

"Don't try to make me feel guilty!" she glared at him with a frown, holding back a jab in his arm as relief washed over her. He managed a laugh, and for a moment, she herself even felt somewhat lighthearted. She was more happy than she would ever admit to see that her rescuer was alive.

"I think we should finally introduce ourselves to one another," the rabbit said. "I'm Judy Hopps."

"Nick Wilde," the fox replied. She just smiled, and he still had that stupid smirk on his face.

But then, the aura in the room turned serious as the door behind them opened. Judy turned, shock falling onto her features to see it was none other than Chief Bogo. The laughter in the room seemed like a far away memory as the water buffalo made his way over to prey and predator.

"Evening, Hopps."

Judy's nose twitched as her surprise began to fade.

"Chief Bogo. . ." she trailed off nervously. He seemed more stressed than when she'd been assigned her case.

"I've got to say that I've never been more disappointed in an officer in my entire life."

Judy was taken off guard, and felt her ears flatten.

"I'm sorry, I know that it was bad that I was out for three days, but-"

"Don't act like you don't know, Hopps!"

The chief's voice had risen, making Judy flinch a little.

"You put everyone in danger, and all you have to say is that you're sorry?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Judy replied honestly.

"Hopps, playing stupid with someone like me isn't going to cut it. You literally set an entire factory on fire!"

Judy's mind was swamped with confusion.

"Sir," the rabbit's eyes slowly turned to Nick, who leaned up now. "Are you saying _she_. . ."

He trailed off, as if he didn't want to finish it.

"Oh, yes," Bogo went on. "I spoke with the factory manager, Trine, unless you forgot about _her_ too." Judy's heart was in her throat and her eyes were wide with shock. "She told me that you triggered the fire."

"A-are you serious?" Judy stammered. "Why on Earth would I ever? And the place was crawling with security cameras! Surely it would've been recorded that I hadn't done such a thing?"

"The security systems were all destroyed because of the fire. Apparently after all, predators do work at these factories. Trine described the scene as you sneaking off and going to mess with one of the machines and start the fire."

Judy felt panic flare up inside of her.

"N-no. . . that's _not_ what happened!" Judy said desperately.

"She said that you'd tried to fight with her as well, and that she was lucky to have escaped when she did. Apparently her hoof as well as your foot had fell through one of the gratings and she'd gotten stuck there until she was rescued. She tried to save you too but it was too late for that. You're truly lucky, Hopps, that they haven't decided to place you in jail."

Nick had become infuriated by what he had been hearing. He had almost died and saved someone who had tried to kill predators? The thought of that disgusted him. But as he continued to follow Bogo's words, he instantly realized how faulty they really were.

Judy just shook her head. "You've got it all wrong! Chief, please. I wouldn't-"

"You're fired, Hopps."

The words hit her like a train going two-hundred miles per hour. She'd never thought that she would be fired when she had only been on the job for less than a week.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Nick called out, but Bogo ignored him and left without another word.

Silence enveloped the room like the pain that was currently enveloping Judy's heart which rested in her throat, constricting any words she could've said.

Her eyes were plastered to the door where Bogo had disappeared, her vision becoming blurrier and blurrier the more her tears built up. The rabbit's paws raised to her mouth in shock as she realized she'd truly been fired and framed.

"Carrots. . ."

Judy headed for the door, holding onto the icy doorknob for what felt like an eternity before she looked back at Nick.

"I-I'm sorry. I have to g-go," she spluttered, her voice trembling. She turned back, leaving the injured fox behind.

* * *

It had been a week since the events of the fire. Nick had to compliment the animal who figured out how to treat concussions. In the first few days of being injured his head felt like it was self-destructing, but he had to say that his nausea hadn't lasted for as long as he had expected it to. Besides the blazing headaches he would occasionally get after that, which was certifiably 'normal' for a concussion victim, he was fine.

But at the same time, Nick Wilde was in fact not very fine at all.

He didn't know what it was, because he hadn't felt sympathy toward a prey in years, but something inside him compelled him to want to help her. It could be that the injustice of her being fired got to him in more ways than one. It didn't just get to him, it enraged him because he knew that those zebras weren't dumb creatures.

Nick and Judy had been both set up by the likes of them, and he didn't enjoy knowing that at all. Not long after coming to the conclusion that those zebras were as low as predators were, he decided to help Judy.

When he first met her he knew just by the look in her eyes that she hated predators. The day he met her, he hadn't expected on almost getting killed for her. He literally had told her that, and then what did he do? Almost get himself killed. But Nick never let the degrading eyes of prey see that they got to him on a daily basis, so it was easy to make them mad like acting like he didn't care.

But he saw the more friendly side of Judy in the hospital, and figured she wasn't so bad after all. After some digging, he eventually found her address.

He walked up the stairs to the doors of the apartment building. His green eyes landed on the keypad, and he called on her room number once he located it. A small ding emitted from the device.

"Whoever you are, I'm really not in the mood."

Nick couldn't say he was surprised to hear her say something along the lines of that.

"Carrots, could you let me in? I want to talk."

There was a pause, like she was hesitating.

"Give me five minutes."

Well, at this rate they had all the time in the world. So he did wait, until she came back over the buzzer to let him know he could come in.

He opened the door and walked down the hall, finding the number to her apartment a minute later. She'd already cracked open her door for him to come in. A voice in Nick's head was talking to him, asking him why he was even bothering, but he shook it away. He knew why he was doing this.

"Hey fluff," he said, walking in. She was sitting on the edge of her bed. The room was small and pretty dingy. He didn't think he could live in a place that was so cramped. His observant eyes wandered to notice that she had a bags of luggage packed up. "Are you leaving?" he asked.

"I've got no choice," Judy said miserably. "My parents think I started the fire. . . everyone thinks that I did it. It was all over the news, and it's not like I don't hear the whispers of people on the street when I walk by, wondering why I'm not in jail."

Nick closed the door behind him and walked over to her desk, sitting down on the little chair that was settled in front of it.

"Everyone except me." Nick said. Her purple eyes glanced up, a pink tinge to them as though she'd been crying. He frowned a little. "Y'know carrots, you've really got me worried about you."

"I'm worried about me too," she said, her paws scrunching against her jeans. "My parents are insisting I go to therapy. I'm leaving for my hometown in a few hours."

Nick stared, and a seriousness was about him.

"No, you're not. We're going to get your job back and find out what those striped rats are doing."

Judy's eyes widened a little, and her head finally turned up.

"W-what?" she stammered.

"You heard me. We're gonna get your job back."

Judy's mouth was opened in shock.

"Why? Why are you helping me again? I don't. . . understand. . ."

Nick knew she would ask this question.

"Because I know what it's like to have your dreams crushed, and I know that I would've wanted someone to help me too." He stood up and put out a paw, hoping she would agree to solve the case with him. "The cops will never believe a framed, ex-cop bunny or a fox, so we need proof."

Her eyes were still wide, and she blinked in shock. He prompted her once more by flicking his wrist a little. She ignored it and leapt up, and it was his turn to be shocked as he felt her arms wrap about his waist.

"Thank you!" she cried with gratitude. A smile passed his face.

* * *

I'm so sorry about not updating this sooner! I've got online classes I'm currently enrolled in and I had to keep up with them. This story will get finished, I promise! So as a way to make it up to you guys this chapter is a little longer this time.

Thanks again for the follows and favs! Remember to leave a review if you're enjoying, I love to hear what you guys think!


	5. Chapter 5 - Liar, Liar, Factory on Fire

Judy didn't know what she was thinking when she decided to trust a predator. She didn't really like the idea of being at his mercy, or having to follow his direction. But at this choice she knew he was the only one, just like he'd said, that knew the truth. He was the only one who could vouch for her, the only one who could possibly help her at all. She was grateful to him that he would even bother to help her out to begin with, and with that in mind she pushed down her 'predator hate' thoughts.

Nick had led her to his car and she felt suddenly nervous about all of it. He opened the door, looking back.

"Bunnies first." That stupid smile was on his face again. Judy sighed as she stepped into the car, which was a nice orange color. Of course, what else would it be, what else had she expected?

Once Nick was in the car too, they were off. It wasn't very late in the day yet, the sun was still high in the sky, the lunchbreak only having ended a while ago. Judy felt the awkward silence intensify as they came to a red light. She tapped her legs a little, unknowing as of what to say.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked, looking to him.

"Well, I'm thinking lay low for the first few days," he suggested. "Your parents want you to go home and uh. . . basically 98% of the population wants you in jail right now."

Judy groaned a little at the bells of truth.

"Don't remind me," she mumbled.

"But hey, as long as we stay off the radar for a little while, then the cops'll leave us alone."

"They don't want me in jail yet." Judy pointed out. He gave a shrug.

"Yeah, but they'll be suspicious as to what we're doing. Bogo knows who I am and he knows more of who you are. Right now you're looked at as a criminal, so if they see you up to anything they'll probably throw you in jail for good."

Judy leaned back in her seat uneasily, thinking about that. She rubbed at her temples, trying to think of a way that she could solve the situation. No one would believe her, she'd already been framed.

"You're right. . . but where are we going?"

Judy didn't want to hear the answer when he snickered.

"It's about time I took a vacation." The small rabbit was not amused in the least. She stared at him with a blank expression on her face. His eyes darted to her. "What?"

"That's very vague," Judy glared at him.

"Well, where would you go on a vacation?"

"I don't have the same mind as you so we're obviously not going to think the same thing!"

"You didn't even guess!"

"I don't know. . . Rainforest District?"

Judy felt a twinge of annoyance when he started to laugh.

"Wow, you really are bad at guessing," he shook his head. She raised a balled fist, striking him in the arm. "Hey! Already acting mean again, Carrots?"

"Quit messing around and tell me where we're going!"

"Sahara Square, dumbo." Nick answered. "Now, I request an apology."

Judy scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"You're not getting it."

Nick placed a hand over his heart.

"I've gotta say that I'm hurt by this."

"Good, be hurt." She responded in a sarcastic tone.

Judy rested her head against the window, barely noticing that she'd started smiling at his stupidity.

As much as she didn't want to believe it, she did know there were some good predators out there. She wasn't going to change over night, but she also wasn't going to deny that when Nick had come over to propose trying to save her job that she'd lightened up to him a lot more than she already had.

Her job. Judy, for a moment, thought about how pointless it was that they were doing this. Bogo would never look at her the same, her parents probably wouldn't look at her the same way either. Judy had thought about it ever since she'd been fired. Her dream had fallen to pieces because of one accusation, because of one coincidence, because of one. . . one hatred.

Had it not been obvious she hated predators she might've had some kind of alibi. She'd be hanging by one paw, but still, she would have some sort of say in it all.

Judy sniveled a little, trying to focus on the road rather than her thoughts.

"Fluff?"

Her head lifted as she turned, feeling a paw rested on her own. Nick smiled sympathetically. "It'll be okay."

Judy felt stupid for wanting to cry, but just nodded in fear that her voice might crack, or the movement of her jaw might push some of her tears over the edge. She rested her head back down, feeling her eyes close. Darkness wrapped around her like a blanket as her mind let itself go and she entered the realm of sleep.

* * *

"Rise and shine!"

Judy's eyes struggled to open as she looked around. Her driver was gone much to her alarm. Then, from the window beside her, there was a knock. The small rabbit nearly flew right out of her seat as she tore herself away from it. That's when she saw Nick outside, his laughter muffled by the glass window between them.

Judy flung the door open, which ended up slamming into the fox and knocking him over. She got out, glaring down at him.

"Don't scare me like that, idiot!"

"But was hitting me with the door necessary?"

Nick got up, brushing himself off. He looked up behind Judy.

She slowly turned, in shock when she saw the massive hotel that was towering over them.

"It's. . . huge!" she marveled.

"One hundred and one stories of luxury," Nick said.

"I can't imagine this being cheap. Where did you get the money for this place?"

"I didn't. You did."

Judy's teeth clenched as he walked past her, a wad of cash in his paw.

"T-that's my money!" Judy snapped, keeping up with him.

"Very good, it is your money! Uh, here. . . put these on. Just so maybe nobody recognizes you for now."

Nick turned and grabbed a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, pushing them onto her face. She crossed her arms in frustration.

"You owe me that money back."

"Whatever you say, Carrots," he smirked, "not like it'll matter when you're making the greens when you've got your job back."

Once they entered the sliding glass doors, Judy's paws felt relief to be off the hot sand. She'd hardly even realized to begin with how hot it was outside, and as the air conditioner's cool air washed over her, there was an immense rejoicing.

The rabbit and fox duo headed up to the front desk. A camel dressed in the hotel's uniform was staring at a computer screen in front of him. Nick waited for a moment, and then cleared his throat.

"We'd like to get a room. For two nights."

"Whoa, hold on!" Judy turned on him instantly. "We're not staying in the same room!"

Nick's half-lidded eyes looked down at her.

"Well, Carrots, then it's twice the cash," he reasoned with a shrug. "But suit yourself!"

"Alright, fine." Judy grumbled. She already felt awkward about being in the same car as him, but sharing the same room? The rabbit felt even more awkward as the seconds ticked by. She watched wistfully as her money was handed up.

"I'll need both of your names."

Judy and Nick both glanced at one another, like they weren't sure what to say. The fox looked up a moment later.

"Nick Wilde, and this is my friend. . . Trudy. . ." he seemed to have no last name.

"Crops!" Judy blurted out. Nick's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth as though he was going to start laughing. The camel only raised an eyebrow, but completed the transaction. Nick was handed a key card, which he more than gladly accepted.

Judy felt her face burning with embarrassment. Once they were down the hall, Nick burst out in laughter.

"Shut up!" Judy said as she shoved him.

"Trudy Crops? Seriously?" he forced out between laughs.

"I panicked! You did too, don't deny it!" she said, her eyes slits. They approached the elevator, where Nick had now composed himself.

"I'm sorry, but that was seriously like the best unexpected last name I could've imagined."

Judy just rolled her eyes despite smiling.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Oh, Ju-Trudy," he said, smirking as he called her by her new name, "what's a vacation without going to the pool first?"

"This isn't even a vacation!" she pointed out as they both got into the elevator. "And where do you expect to get bathing suits around here?"

* * *

Bonnie and Stu Hopps hadn't really believed it when they first heard what their daughter had done. It just didn't seem like their Judy at all. Was it really the same Judy who tried her best to see the good in anyone, or set her goals high and worked hard toward them?

It had hurt Bonnie Hopps more than any of the animals in Zootopia knew that everyone thought her daughter was insane or against predators. One of those things might be true, but only one of those things. Judy Hopps didn't like predators, but she didn't want to kill them either.

Bonnie and Stu had decided to take their daughter home to the farm. There was no way that Judy could possibly walk the streets without being howled at for what she had done. Bonnie didn't want anything to happen to her precious Judy, no matter how awful the thing was that she did.

But Bonnie Hopps was not a fool. She had faith in her daughter and hoped she really hadn't done something like that. Otherwise, Bonnie truly was a fool who didn't know her daughter that well enough at all.

Bonnie hadn't wanted to put their daughter through therapy, but that was of the request of the manager of the burned-down factory. Her name was Trine Zeel, someone who didn't seem like such a bad person. She had been friendly on the phone, and now the couple were going to meet up with her.

Judy's parents had waited at the train station for the limo to pick them up. Yes, a limo of all things was coming to greet Bonnie and Stu Hopps just so that they could talk with someone in person and retrieve their daughter. It was almost a humbling experience, if Bonnie was honest with herself.

"You'd think zebras didn't exist otherwise." Stu had whispered in Bonnie's ear as one got out from the limo. He was wearing a suit and black glasses as he opened the door for them.

There was no other choice besides entering. Bonnie only wanted to get Judy and leave, not much more. Though she knew for the safety of their own home and the safety of Judy they were going have to cooperate and listen to what this zebra had to say.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, how are you?"

Bonnie hardly heard the greeting as she took in the sight of the limo. It looked smaller on the outside, that was for sure. It was made for medium-sized animals like zebras, which shouldn't have been much of a shocker, but it was ridiculously tall.

Bonnie leapt onto the leather seat and glanced down at Trine, who was facing them. A kind smile was on her face as she brushed some of her white and black hair from her eyes. She was wearing the typical classy business woman attire. Beside her was a wine glass, filled with some sort of drink.

"We're fine, thank you. We could probably use some of that." Stu said jokingly. The zebra only laughed.

"It's just sparkling water, to be honest," she smirked before drinking some of it. Then, she seemed to turn a little more serious. "I told you about what I requested of you, right?"

"Right. You just want us to put Judy in therapy and have her far gone from the city."

"It probably sounds harsh, but she just can't be trusted to be walking these streets. I don't know what would happen if she burnt down another one of our factories," she sighed. "I don't want her to be put in jail though because I don't think she's a terrible person, and I believe in second chances. Sure, she did something awful, but she can make it up eventually I'm sure. . . perhaps in a pie-making business."

Bonnie felt her short ears flatten at the suggestion. She knew that Judy didn't want to do that. . . Judy wanted to be a cop more than anything. Bonnie had never gotten to question her daughter about why she did it. . . or, if she even did it at all. She pleaded innocent but it never seemed to be enough to convince anyone considering she hated predators.

"I'm honestly sorry again that this happened. It just seems so unlike our daughter to do anything like that." Stu said awkwardly.

"It's not your fault, and not entirely hers either. If there's something wrong with her, then what can I say about it? She did something bad because she thought she was doing something right." She stared with deep-blue eyes at the shiny liquid in her glass, swishing it around in an almost bored way.

"There's nothing wrong with Judy." Bonnie said firmly, tired of her daughter being insulted. This caught Trine's attention as she glanced up, resting her head on one hoof.

"Her hatred of predators is one thing wrong with her, especially if it would push her to a stunt like this."

"There's a reason why she hates. . ." Bonnie nearly tried to reason, but she trailed off. Judy hadn't been born hating predators, not at all. She had predator friends as a child as well. It wasn't until the _accident_ that changed everything. Bonnie sighed, trying to compose herself.

Much to her relief the zebra had decided to ignore what she'd just said. The limo had come to a full stop now, and Bonnie tensed a little.

The limo door opened.

"We're here," a gruff voice spoke.

The trio left the car and stood in front of the staircase that lead up to the apartment building.

"You two can go. I'll wait here. I'd like to speak with Judy one last time before she leaves, though," Trine said.

Bonnie and Stu wordlessly walked up to the building, glancing at the sky. The sun had gone down considerably now. They were late to pick her up.

Bonnie had received a spare key to Judy's apartment, so they were easily able to unlock the front door and disappear inside.

"How's this gonna go? She already knows what's in store for her, but Judy has always been very stubborn." Stu said in uneasiness.

"Stu, she's still our little girl. I doubt she's going to resist us. We're protecting her, after all." Bonnie reasoned.

They both stood outside the door until Bonnie finally knocked. They stayed there, waiting in silence for their bright-eyed daughter to open the door and possibly give them a hug. Or maybe she would stand there and not say anything, knowing her dreams had been crushed.

"For goodness sake, Bon, just open the door." Stu said impatiently. Bonnie did as he said, suddenly nervous.

The door slowly opened, and it wasn't what they expected. Judy's bags which had all been packed were sitting neatly in one corner, but. . . there was no Judy.

"Where. . .?" Bonnie trailed off, looking around the room. She really wasn't there. Bonnie instantly felt a little horror creep over her. Had their daughter been kidnapped, or worse? She walked up to the table where, thankfully, a little note had been placed.

 _I'm sorry that I have to do this to you guys, but I've got to prove I'm innocent. I'm going to show them all that they were wrong about me. Don't look for me._

"She ran away?" Bonnie concluded questioningly after a while.

The door to the apartment slammed shut suddenly, and both of Judy's parents turned in surprise. Trine stood there, cocking her neck. On either side of her was two other zebras who were dressed the same as the chauffeur.

"So where is she?"

"W-we don't know, really." Stu said nervously. The zebra sighed.

"So you two were in on her little scheme all along?"

"What scheme? We didn't know she wouldn't be here." Bonnie said defensively.

"Take care of them." Trine said suddenly, not paying any heed to their words.

"W-what are you doing?" Bonnie stammered as the two larger zebras made their over to the two rabbits.

"What's it look like?" she asked, that same smile still on her face. "I'm kidnapping you two. If Judy won't let us come to her, then she'll eventually have to come to us."

"I won't let you touch my daughter!" Bonnie exclaimed in horror. "You said you wouldn't do anything bad to her. You lied!"

The zebra only brushed down some stray bangs, chuckling.

"It's nothing personal, Mrs. Hopps."

With that sentence, Bonnie couldn't fight the grasp that she was in as the bigger zebra held onto her ears. A rag was pressed to her mouth, a rag that she had feared for most of her life to ever come near her. The world began to spin and become blurry, and it wasn't long before Judy's parents had both found themselves in the darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

First of all, I would like to apologize for no update in a while guys! I feel really awful about it. I officially start school in nine days, and it's not going to be easy considering it's my senior year, but I do plan on still updating this story daily. Also, I think it was obvious already but just to clarify, the line in-between just represents a time skip.

Also, I thought I could start replying to reviews now too!

 **Fantasyever** , you're too sweet! Thank you for reading!

 **Etolie Polaire** , thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 **The Pinball King** , oh yeah, online classes are awful! I'm so sorry that I've been taking so long on updates, I promise that they'll be more frequent from now on. Thanks for your support and patience!

 **Michaelen** , aaaaah I'm sorry! I promise I will write faster! Thank you for being so interested in my story!

If you guys are enjoying, don't remember to leave a review telling me what you thought or if you have any suggestions! See you guys soon.  
(also... is it obvious I'm having too much fun with the names of these chapters?)


	6. Chapter 6 - Childhood Scars

"No, no, no!" Judy cried, her paws twitching. "This is awful! This is terrible! What am I supposed to do?"

"I'm not sure," Nick responded, glancing at her, "but it's your fault."

"My fault?" Judy asked in bewilderment. "You're the one who suggested that we ride this stupid thing!"

"Carrots, we haven't even moved yet." Nick pointed out to her. "Also, for your information, you didn't have to listen to me."

It had been four days since Nick and Judy had first gotten to Sahara Square to 'lay low' as the fox had put it. With the upcoming weekend arriving, that also meant that the desert's boardwalk was crawling with animals, and of course for some stupid reason she had listened to Nick when he suggested going.

Judy wasn't scared of most things besides predators, but heights? That and the rabbit did not mix in the least. She was highly regretting getting on this ferris wheel with Nick Wilde who she felt only wanted to torture her with the ride.

With a creaking noise, the ferris wheel moved, daring to put them at the top.

"Just to let you know, this is the last day that I'm deciding to sit back and do nothing about my job. My parents are probably worried to death about me," Judy said nervously, trying to put her mind off of how high they'd become in the air.

"We need a plan," Nick said, leaning back against his side of the little carriage. "Did you manage to find any clues at all about that factory?"

Thinking back on it, Judy found it easy to reply.

"Yeah, I did. . . there was a secret room in the factory, or at least one that looked suspicious. We both tumbled into it when the bridge broke. Had we fallen anywhere else we probably both would've broken our necks," she laughed. It wasn't in humor, it was filled with anxiety. She glanced at the window to see that they'd moved up even further. Her paws scrunched a little.

"Well, that's a start at least, but I'm sure that the place will be off limits." Nick shrugged. "The cops'll probably be all over it like flies to honey. So I say we'll just have to sneak in somehow."

"Yeah. . ." Judy trailed off. In the past two days she'd actually done some fun stuff with Nick and gotten her mind off of a lot of the troubles that she was currently dealing with, like how her reputation in the Zootopia world was tarnished forever and how her parents probably would never look at her the same way again. She just sighed, but froze a little as the cart tremored to a stop.

An awkward silence had consumed the two passengers.

"What a night, huh?" Nick asked, gandering out at the sun which had finally set, a violet hue taking over the sky.

"Yeah," Judy echoed. She hesitated. There was something she wanted to tell him, but she felt like she hadn't known him long enough to, but she really wanted to considering how nice the past few days had been. She cleared her throat.

"Nick?" she asked, and he looked back to her. "Um. . ." she wasn't sure how to put it. It was an uncomfortable topic for her and every time it was brought up it made her angry. "Look, I. . . I really judged you when we first met, and I'm sorry about it. You've turned out to be a nicer guy than I probably would've ever thought you actually were."

Nick blinked in surprise. Clearly, he wasn't sure how to handle it, but she wasn't done.

"The truth is, I hate predators for a specific reason." She placed her paws on her lap, focusing on the floor of the teetering cart. "It probably wasn't obvious, but I'm a twin."

"Nah, I'm not very surprised. You rabbits have like twenty kids in one sitting, after all."

"Nick!" she snapped flusteredly.

"Sorry, go on."

"Well, um. . . I might be a twin, but my twin is gone."

An icy silence seemed to envelop the space between them. Nick wasn't sure how to react to what she was saying, or where it was going. "She was kidnapped by a fox. This. . . fox. . . somehow gotten her collar off and showed up at our farm. The way she talked to us with that slick and poisonous voice, I. . . it's so vivid," she took in a breath, realizing she'd begun to shake a little. "She actually had sweet talked my siblings and I long enough for her to snatch my sister and take off. We haven't seen her since."

Judy's head was hanging. She hoped that Nick hadn't been able to see that she was on the verge of tears.

"Because of that, I naturally became terrified of predators, thinking it could've been me, or thinking of all the ways I could've saved her if I had the chance. . . and that's why I hate most of them. I-it's probably really stupid to you, but that's my reason."

Her voice cracked a little, and she internally scolded herself. She had wanted to tell him why she'd been so cold to him in the beginning when he had first come to help her, but she had hesitated. Now that it was off her chest, she felt a little better. Except at the same time she felt worst after remembering that fateful day.

No, there was no going back now. Judy was definitely crying, and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't run or hide from Nick, she was forced to be humiliated in this ant-sized ferris wheel cart.

"B-but you, predators like you give me hope that not all of you are so bad."

There was silence for a moment, and Judy still stared at her lap until she felt something touch her paw. She gasped a little when she realized it was Nick, who had grabbed onto it.

She looked up to see that the usual smirk was off of his face, and he looked completely serious.

"It's not stupid. I'm sorry."

She'd never heard the simpering fox ever sound so genuine. She just sat there, her mouth in the shape of a small o, feeling unable to reply.

"It was no reason to judge you first, I. . ." she trailed off as she tried to find her words.

"I understand," Nick said, still rubbing her hand in comfort, "because I did the same thing as you. I judged you too because I hate prey." Judy stared breathlessly. "There's the good and bad in both predator and prey alike, which I understand. But some prey are just completely rotten to the core."

"I. . . why?" she questioned in shock. She knew that prey and predator were naturally enemies and that it was stupid to ask, but she wanted to know.

"Because prey killed my mother." Nick said firmly.

Judy raised her free paw to her mouth in horror.

"Nick, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I-"

"Don't stress over it too much," Nick said almost darkly. "I was young when it happened. It was the stupidest scenario that could've happened. All I wanted was to get on the baseball team at school," he started fondly, smiling a little. It slowly faded. "It was a team full of prey, and I should've known nothing good would've come from it."

Judy almost felt a little fear come over her when she noticed the collar on his neck had begun to slowly fade into yellow. Nick's vivid green eyes had closed now as he seemed to animate the scenario in his head.

"Naturally because they hated predators, they rejected me. The team captain was a little porcupine brat. Yeah, I cried because of it. I was a little wimp as a kid. Looking back on it, I feel stupid for getting upset over it. But that's besides the point. When I ran home crying my mom was furious about it. So she went to confront the team captain's mother at her house. Not in a violent way, but a friendly way. It didn't end up friendly, though."

"Nick. . ." Judy trailed off nervously, feeling her stomach twist as the collar's blinking became slightly faster. His lips seemed to draw back in a sneer of rising anger.

"When the little brat's mother saw how angry _my_ mother was despite her attempts to be nice about it, she'd called the cops. And of course, they started to fight, or at least that's what the cops would tell you."

The light turned orange.

"My mother was forced to submit and not dare fight back if she wanted to even get away with even simply confronting her. All I could do was watch and not do anything while my mother got beat. It was when that little brat's mother turned on me and slapped me was when my mother decided enough was enough. She fought back, naturally wanting to defend me. . . and of course the cops had come by that time. You're probably thinking her collar would've gone off by that point, but it didn't. So they shot her."

His grip on Judy's hand had become so tight she thought it might break. His collar was blinking rapidly, about to turn that deadly shade of red that would end up electrocuting him.

"Do you know how it feels? To see your mother being killed for no good reason right in front of your eyes? She got away with it, too! My mother died for nothing-"

"Nick!" she interrupted, pulling her paw free and placing them on his shoulders. His eyes flashed open widely, and he stared at her, breathing heavily. She watched as the collar's blinking slowed down, and the colors changed from dark orange to yellow.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Her violet eyes searched his face. His fists were balled, and his eyes were focused on the outside of the cart. "This is my fault, I didn't mean to get you so upset." Judy said, feeling guilty.

"No," he raised a paw, and she finally took hers off his shoulders. She sat back and straightened, watching him in sadness. "I'm glad we both talked about this. I've. . . never told anyone about what happened."

"I'm happy too. But. . . what happened to you after that?"

"I was put into an orphanage. Yeah, my dad walked out on my mom when I was only a baby. So it was just me and her."

"That's horrible. . ." Judy said sympathetically.

Neither of them had realized they were back on the ground considering the high emotion of the story-tellings. The door opened, prompting them to leave. Both of them wordlessly got off. She had felt a wall come down between them. Nick was the first predator she had ever told about what happened, and apparently she had also been one of the only animals he had ever told about what happened.

"Well, that ferris wheel was kind of boring," Nick finally said after they'd been walking for quite a long time, stretching his arms over his head.

"I never want to ride one again." Judy muttered.

"At least the view was kind of nice, though." He smirked at her. She stared, not knowing what he was suggesting. Seeing he'd caught her attention, he continued, "You know, seeing you cry. You must really like me to cry like that in my presence."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Judy stammered.

"You bunnies are so emotional. But not usually in front of people you just met." Judy couldn't say anything to that statement. He was right. "Say, I wanna go on that one." Judy followed the fox's claw to where he pointed at a rollercoaster. The awkwardness had completely disappeared as both their minds strayed from the topic.

"Oh, there is _no_ way!"

"Come on, if you can like a _predator_ then you can do this."

"It might be true that I don't hate you, but that's no excuse to get me on one of those torture devices!"

* * *

Chief Bogo wasn't the kind of guy who slacked on his job, but right now he felt like he was. Without Hopps to be on the collar case, where complaints were coming in every few hours about defect collars, he wasn't sure where to start now. Sending out the big guys would be intimidating. He was extremely conflicted.

Whilst thinking about what he should do the door opened.

"Why didn't you knock?" the water buffalo grunted before looking up, but paused.

"Emergency," Clawhauser responded breathlessly, moving over as a familiar face walked through. It was that zebra again, holding a couple of photos in her hooves. Bogo was almost irritated by her presence. She was a sweet-talker, someone who seemed like she always got what she wanted.

"Emergency?" Bogo echoed, looking expectantly at Trine and pushing away his thoughts. She looked up anxiously.

"I found these photos left at my front door."

She hesitated, but held them up. The chief's eyes fell on her as he put on his glasses, then took them slowly, looking at them.

He was in shock at what he saw. There were few words he could use to describe how he felt when he saw the different photos. The splatters of blood and fur on the ground were enough to send him reeling. To think that Judy Hopps had been sitting in front of him in this very office and that he had assigned her a case when she herself was a deadly criminal. . .

Finally, he stood up, throwing the pictures down in disgust. There was no way that he could let her roam freely anymore, not after what he'd just seen.

"I didn't know what to think when I saw what Judy Hopps was capable of," Trine said, wiping at her eyes. Bogo stared her down, holding onto the edges of his desk with so much strength that it could've cracked in half right then and there.

"We'll see to it that Judy Hopps is arrested immediately. Thank you for supplying me with these photos." Bogo said without any hesitation. Clawhauser's eyes widened from where he stood, and Trine just nodded with a sniffle.

"Okay," she said in a shaky voice, "I'll be leaving now."

Bogo sat back down, rubbing his temples. The photos looked up at him hauntingly, and he just shook his head miserably, not wanting to look at them at all. Clawhauser hadn't left, but instead came over to take a look at them himself. His eyes were wide with the same horror that Bogo was currently feeling.

"Chief, doesn't it seem suspicious at all?" the cheetah asked.

"What?" Bogo looked up at him. The cheetah suddenly looked nervous as he saw the stressed stare of his chief on him.

"She seemed so. . . so nice! It makes no sense at all. Why would Judy do it? Isn't it kind of weird that she would put out pictures publicly so people would know it was her?"

Bogo looked up at Clawhauser as though he had twenty heads. The water buffalo snorted at his words.

"She hates predators, Clawhauser. That's her reason. She's up to something and I'd rather us have her arrested before she does something worse than she already did, if that's possible."

Clawhauser opened his mouth, but slowly closed it. He knew there was no reasoning with the chief. He simply turned, walking out.

"She didn't seem to hate me," he muttered, pulling the door shut behind him.

* * *

Nick's ears flicked when he heard the noise of the television slowly waking him up from his sleep. He groaned at the light from the window that was hitting his eyelids, knowing there was no possible way he was going to fall asleep again. Accepting this fact, he sat up in defeat.

"Fluff, why on Earth is the-"

He glanced to see that Judy was standing in front of the TV. Her ears were drooping behind her head, and her eyes were wide. Nick felt a pit of uneasiness open up in his stomach as he slid from his own bed, walking up beside her.

"Most of the photos are too graphic to release. As seen in this one," the picture flashed up onto the screen only furthered Nick's confusion until he realized why Judy was so upset. There was a pair of rabbits on the screen who were tied up, duct-tape over their mouths where they stared into the camera in fear. "It depicts the parents of Judy Hopps, who has recently been the talk of the town after burning down a factory at the northern side of Downtown. There was no explanation for these photos, but after they were found at the doorstep of Trine Zeel, all leads have fallen to Hopps. She was shocked to find pictures on her porch of Hopps's parents," there was a pause, "looking dead."

Judy's violet eyes never left the screen as she searched its screen desperately as if she expected this to be a joke. The screen flashed to the face of that familiar zebra. Multiple microphones were being held toward her, to which she started to speak.

"I find it just horrible that someone could do this to their own family! I didn't want to see her go to jail, but seeing as she's nothing but a psychopath, she deserves to be stuck there."

Her face had grown darker with each word said. There was a slight pause as the image faded, revealing the reporters who sat, shaking their heads.

"If you have any idea on the whereabouts of Judy Hopps, please contact the ZPD as soon as you can. Currently, the police are in search of her and she is number one on the most-wanted list. Any additional information is appreciated-"

Nick shut the television off, leaving the room in silence.

Judy still stared into it, a storm of tears brewing about her eyes. Nick tried to keep his cool as his blood began to boil.

"W-why?" Judy asked aloud, more to herself than to Nick. "Why are they dead?"

The fox couldn't answer. So much for laying low. The thought annoyed him.

"We have to go, Judy. Now."

"Nick, my parents, they've killed my parents!" she said, tears pouring down her cheeks. She clearly was trying to pull herself together. He thought for a moment, trying to think of any ideas, but that was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Judy gasped, and Nick glared toward the door. He honestly wasn't sure if he should go over or not, but he had little choice as another bang hit the door. He creeped up to it, looking through the peephole.

If he were a frog, Nick Wilde would've jumped straight through the ceiling. Instead, he stood, frozen. Judy stared in fear. He put a finger to his lips, then pointed one finger to the window wordlessly.

"This is the ZPD! Open the door!"

Nick crept to the window, throwing it upwards with one strong fling. His heartbeat was so loud he thought the cops might hear it and just bust down the door, which they probably would be doing any second now. He glanced down, seeing that the drop wasn't that far. They were only on the second floor after all.

He grasped Judy around the waist, lifting her up. He figured maybe, just maybe they could get away with this if they were able to escape in time.

The look on Judy's face was scribbled over in fear. He tried to give her a reassuring look. Her look of fright turned into determination as she just nodded, slipping over the ledge, hanging onto the window sill with her soft paws.

"You've got five seconds! We're coming in, Wilde!"

Who had ratted them out, the guy from the front desk? He looked as she dropped to the ground. He did the same as her, hanging over the ledge. The second he heard the door burst open, he fell to the ground.

The cement hit his legs hard, and he wobbled for a second. That's when he realized Judy was no longer standing there, she was running. Nick followed after her, feeling the adrenaline pumping through him as he caught up with her. They fled through the parking lot. He glanced back at his car wistfully, but then remembered that he was literally being chased by the ZPD. His car could wait there peacefully.

What was the reason behind framing Judy? What was that zebra trying to hide?

"Nick, what're we going to do?" she asked shakily, tears still rushing down her face, wetting her fur. He thought about it for a moment, checking over his shoulder to see that no one was following them.

"I've got a friend in Tundratown who might be able to help us."

* * *

Looks like things just got a little messy. To be honest when I first was planning out this story I didn't think I was going to use OCs, but I wanted to do things a little differently

 _To the reviewers:_

 **Fantasyever,** **you're too kind! Thank you so much, I am so happy you are enjoying it!**

 **tyrekem576, I'm glad you think so!**

Thanks guys for the continued support! If you like, leave a review/fav! I love hearing what you guys think!


	7. Chapter 7 - From Judy Hopps

Judy felt she'd been running from the cops for years, when in reality it'd only been a few hours. Those sunglasses that Nick had given Judy honestly seemed to be working, as no one had seemed to recognize her. They'd gotten on the train to Tundratown without any suspicion rising. The only thing rising was the confusion of the other passengers when they saw the odd duo sitting next to each other. Those were things that nobody usually saw in Zootopia, a fox and rabbit sitting alongside one another and not glaring at each other with hatred.

Though, Judy couldn't care less about the eyes that would glance their way judgingly. Inside Judy a fire had started, and it was burning her insides. She knew who was behind killing her parents, there was no other way possible that it wasn't Trine. The embers of war had been lit, and Judy wasn't going to let them turn to ashes until she saw that her parents got justice.

There was an undying hatred she had for that zebra, one who she thought was an ally, but instead, Judy was sitting there being framed by her. Being framed to have tried to kill people, and now being framed for the death of her very own two parents. Somewhere inside of Judy though, a small light was shining feebly in the dark. Maybe they weren't dead. . . maybe they were still alive.

Though that little hope had not made its way to Judy's mind and was completely blocked out, and instead she focused on what she was going to do to that zebra when she got her hands on her. No, Judy was definitely not a violent person in any way, but thinking about the person who killed her parents had caused a dark storm to brew inside of her and mix up her insides ravenously like a tornado.

Finally the train's doors opened, and the various animal breeds all got off together. Judy recoiled at the cold air that snapped at her face as they walked off. In her undying, numbing anger that was blocking off the feeling of grief and sadness, she'd come to a conclusion on two things.

She was most definitely going to get justice for her parents, and she was going to get Nick out of the situation he'd been put into. She knew that in a case like theirs where Judy was a wanted criminal and he was a predator helping her, they would probably be jailing him too, or they would possibly kill him. She didn't want that.

"Who would want to live here?" she muttered after a long time of walking. Nick wasn't paying attention though, he was busy looking at the street names. Judy shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling her feet turn icy even more with every step she took.

"We're almost there," Nick said reassuringly. "Carrots, look. I'm not even sure about what to say about what's been going on recently. It's terrible."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, seething. His emerald eyes wandered to her.

"I'm worried about you."

"Don't worry about me," Judy said, waving off his concern. She scoffed, her inner thoughts starting to come out. "I'd be worried about that zebra and Bogo, and-"

"Whoah, whoah," Nick interrupted. "Bogo?"

"He's the one who got me into this mess!" Judy snapped when they turned a corner. "If he hadn't put me up to the stupid case. . . just because. . . I hate predators," she'd started to realize what she was saying as a shock poured over her. "It's all my fault that my parents are dead!"

Nick stopped in his tracks. He turned to her. She was staring past him, lost in thought.

"Judy. . ." Nick said, holding onto her paw.

"If it weren't for me, they'd still be alive!"

That line hit Nick close to home. For years he'd blamed himself about his mother's death. He'd hated himself for it. It was then that Nick fully understood and knew Judy's exact pain that she was feeling.

"Judy, it's not your fault," he tried to say, but she just shook her head.

"It is," she said. He wasn't sure what to do. They had to take action now before things got out of hand.

"We're going to fix everything," Nick said determinedly. "I promise."

She looked up at him with a look of hope, tears ready to spill out of her eyes, but she only wiped them away.

Again they continued to walk whilst Nick shivered internally. Those younger days of his life were the darkest. He really had hated himself, and with someone who was an emotional rollercoaster like Judy, she could do damage to herself if she really felt the same way he did. . . or, she could do damage to others.

 _I'd be worried about that zebra and Bogo._

Her words made him uneasy.

Finally, much to Nick's relief, they'd come to the front of the massive establishment.

Judy stared up in shock as her breath formed a little white cloud in front of her. It was gated, two giant polar bears standing outside in black suits. They both looked down at the pair.

"Raymond and Kevin! Nice to see you two!"

Nick waved up as Judy glanced at him uneasily. For a moment she pondered to herself why Nick would be friends with polar bears considering he didn't seem like the Tundratown kind of guy, but she pushed it away as they pulled open the gate for him.

"Thanks, pals." He walked onto the snowy pathway, Judy sticking close to him.

"How do you even know these guys?" Judy asked, looking back as the gate closed.

"Well, being the great person that I am, I just happen to be friends with their boss."

"But a polar bear?" Judy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, Fluff, no," he said as he made his way for the front door, "not a polar bear."

Judy squinted at him.

"Don't make me play the guessing game again."

"Well," Nick cleared his throat awkwardly as he knocked on the door. "You'll see."

Judy groaned, hugging onto herself. At this point, all she wanted was to get through the door.

A moment later it opened. Judy was completely confused when she saw no one standing in front of them. The rabbit was about to speak when she heard a small, squeaky voice.

"Nicholas!"

Judy looked around before staring down in shock.

"How do you do, Fru Fru?" Nick asked.

Judy unintentionally drowned out most of the conversation as she stared down at the little shrew. Judy hadn't expected that at all-to see a four-inch tall animal in front of them. The violet-eyed rabbit found amusement in her choice of hairstyle, but she had little time to think on it when Nick jabbed her in the arm.

"Hey! I-"

"This is Judy." Nick said, as though he were repeating himself.

"You're friends with a bunny?" Fru Fru asked, looking up in surprise.

"Well, this isn't any ordinary bunny," Nick answered, "this one has been plastered all over the news."

The shrew at first only nodded, but then she gasped as though she realized what Nick meant.

"You're the one who killed-"

"I didn't kill my parents," Judy immediately interrupted stiffly. "So, don't bother to call the police."

Nick felt uneasiness at her tone, especially the little bite in it when she said 'police', but simply cleared his throat.

"It's a long story. Mind if we come in?"

Fru Fru looked up for a moment before yelling.

"Daddy! We've got company!"

She began to walk away, indirectly inviting them inside.

Judy was stunned into silence.

"But. . . even though I could be a potential killer?" Judy asked aloud.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know who lives in this house, do you?"

"No."

"The crime-boss of Tundratown, Mr. Big."

* * *

"Well, why don't you tell me why you thought what you did was a good idea?"

Bogo rested his head on his hands, a sarcastic smile on his face, batting his eyes in an almost vicious way at his officer. In response, Bogo's officer looked absolutely terrified, squirming a bit in his seat.

"We didn't think that they'd sneak out, and it was only legal to bust into the room only if we announced ourselves first, w-which is why we did it, sir."

Bogo only sighed, sitting back. The wolf seemed to relax a little until Bogo slammed his fist onto the desk.

"You're dealing with animals like a rabbit and fox! Put the rabbit's logic together with the cleverness of the fox and what do you get? A recipe for disaster! Did you really think they'd just sit around and wait for you to break in, or maybe they would just happen to open the door?"

The chief realized the major error of ranting at one of his officers, and tried to compose himself accordingly.

"We won't let them get away next time, Chief Bogo!" the wolf said, putting his paw to his forehead in a salute, clearly wanting to get off the hot seat.

"Good. Next time, it might just cost your job." Bogo said, trying not to be seething. The wolf just nodded uneasily and left the room.

The water buffalo rubbed his temples, extremely irritated with the fault of his officers for letting Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde escape, especially after the paranoia of everyone in Zootopia going farther and farther up by the day.

As his officer was leaving, he left the door open as Clawhauser came in.

Bogo held back a groan, and glanced in his direction. "What is it?"

"You might want to see this," Clawhauser said nervously, sliding a DVD case over to Bogo.

"Where did you find this?" he demanded when he read the print that was on the outside of the case. _From Judy Hopps._

"It was out with the rest of the mail." Clawhauser responded. Bogo popped open the disk compartment before looking down at the DVD. There was something about it that made the two animals in the room feel extremely uneasy.

Bogo, if he was honest with himself, had no desire to play this and wished that he didn't have to be the first one to watch it. There was no time for hesitation, though. The animals of Zootopia were in danger.

He inserted the DVD and watched as it started to load on the screen of his computer. Clawhauser was watching too, hoping that what he would see on the screen wouldn't be what he expected it to be.

The video loaded, and low and behold, there was Judy Hopps in the flesh, staring into the camera. Both animals felt a shiver go down their spines at the shape that Judy was in. She didn't look anything like she looked the last time they'd both seen her.

In the darkness of the room, where the computer screen was alighting her face, her fur was disshoveled, looking carelessly tossled. She was only visible from the shoulder up, her face being a little too close to the camera.

But the two of them could not shake the look of her eyes, and her expression. While her facial features told one story, the eyes told another completely. Her bright eyes looked dulled, whatever shine which was there was now long gone. It was as though she was fearful of something, but there was something about them that was unnerving. Her pupils were small, and a sickening smile was on her face.

"So, did you like the photos?" she asked, her voice sounding a bit raspy. "The look on your faces when you saw my parents, it must've been wonderful. But don't despair, I promise that my show isn't over yet."

Bogo felt his fists ball at these words. There was a rage that was building up in him as time went by.

"It just amazes me how. . . foolish, you all are. Aren't you the ZPD? Aren't you the ones who are professionals? I mean, why can't you just find me already?"

Clawhauser was thrown off by the last question. Although Judy seemed to be putting up a good facade, there was something about the way she said that where it seemed more like a plea than a taunt. Her eyes darted back and forth across the camera as she said it, almost in some kind of desperate attempt to communicate telepatheically. She straightened however as she continued.

"Anyways, just listen to me closely. The only way that I'll allow you to find me is if you are smart enough to get your hands on Nicholas Wilde. He is the only one who has been siding with me, after all. He's the only one that knows what's truly going on. If you were to catch him, surely you would. . . you would be able to catch me, too?" her smile had faltered a bit, but it picked back up. Her paws were constantly in front of her, beneath her chin, never seeming to stop moving, her actions too rapid. Occasionally she'd glance down at them awkwardly, while looking back up quickly.

"If you are to release this video to the public, I'll make sure that whoever is watching this currently will suffer. Keep it to yourself."

A smile crossed her face. She did one last awkward hand motion before the video cut off.

There was dead silence that engulfed the cheetah and water buffalo. Bogo, after a few minutes, broke it.

"It's time to find Nick Wilde."

"Hold on," Clawhauser automatically said. "What if this is a trap? I mean, did you see Judy's face? Something is wrong here."

"Well, why don't you take this DVD home, quietly, and analyze it yourself, then? In the meantime, unless you show me proof that something is off about this, I'll be searching the streets for Wilde."

Clawhauser felt his jaw clench in frustration. He knew many body expressions from experience, and he could tell something was wrong with the video. Judy looked too different, acted too strangely. . . but, could that truly just be insanity kicking in, or something else?

"I will, then." Clawhauser finally decided to say, taking the DVD in his hands.

Bogo cast him a glare before standing as the cheetah disappeared. The hunt was on for Nick Wilde, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

That night at Clawhauser's house, he was looking over the video on his computer. Despite it being only around two minutes long, he'd watched it for probably a half hour straight, trying to dissect her strange actions. Her hand motions were shaky, her eyes desperate, her facial expression completely different than what she seemed to be feeling from her words.

There was a tap on Clawhauser's shoulder, and he paused the video. Looking up at him was the dappled face of his young daughter. She smiled up, offering up a board game in her hands to play. Her collar around her neck was blinking deep green.

Clawhauser never really wanted to not spend time with his daughter Chelsea when he was at home, especially when he spent so much time away. She didn't have many friends either, because most of the other animals couldn't talk to her. She was deaf.

"I'm sorry, I have some more work to do. Tomorrow we can do stuff." He signed to her in frustration. She pouted a little, setting her game aside onto the table. Then, her eyes lit up a little.

"I want to see!" she signed back excitedly.

"This isn't something you would want to watch. You wouldn't be able to hear it."

"I want to see!" she repeated, frowning. Clawhauser just sighed, and shrugged. It wasn't like she would be able to hear the audio and tell anyone. . .

He just shrugged as he pulled a chair next to him as Chelsea excitedly jumped up onto it to watch the video. Putting the headphones back on, he restarted the video to try and analyze it again.

It felt like he was reaching for anything at this point. Living with a deaf daughter he had learned to recognize the expressions of feeling with no use of words. Facial expressions and bodily movements were things he had grown used to recognizing in the past eight years of living with Chelsea. Judy seemed to be in major distress, but there was no proving that to Bogo. He had his heart set on jailing Judy.

The video ended and Chelsea tugged on his sleeve again. He looked to her and she looked up, a worried look on her face.

"Help me," was all that she signed at first. Clawhauser stared in confusion, not understanding what she was saying. "Help me."

"I don't understand."

"She's saying it."

Clawhauser felt his blood run cold.

"Where?"

That's when she took control, grabbing onto the side of the laptop and dragging it over to her. She muted the audio. That's when she began to point out, at different parts of the video, Judy signing her plea throughout the two minutes of the video. It was usually whenever Judy would look down at her hands when she would sign. Was it just a coincidence? There was no way it could've been, she was using distinct letters from the sign language alphabet.

 _Help me._

There was no denying that she'd silently spoken the words with her hands, little pauses between each letter. It was as clear as day now that something was very wrong. Clawhauser stared in stunned silence, feeling her own distress as his own now.

* * *

Not gonna lie... I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter, it probably was one of the most fun to write. But yeah, what an interesting video for the ZPD to receive... I wonder what's going on? ;)

I also just wanted to let you all know that these chapters might be coming out a little more slowly than I intended because I've recently started up school again, unfortunately. But this will be finished, so don't worry!

Reviews;

 **car213: Thanks so much! (I really hope I'm not copying anyone else's ideas, I'd feel terrible about that... I know that the collars are kind of a commonly used element in some stories, but I wanted to write a story about that idea too!)**

 **syhsnakey: Oh yes, I think Judy does especially. I don't like her much either!**

 **The Pinball King: Haha I'm sorry that you're in dismay! Let's hope it's not true, but no guarantees hehe. I loved Mr. Big in the movie, so of course I wanted to feature him in this story :). I will let you know if I might need any ideas. Thanks so much for your thoughts, honestly your reviews give me life!  
**

 **BlueberryCarrots: Aaaaaa I'm glad you think it's getting better!  
**

 **Guest: Thanks so much for the support!**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Distraction Effect

Meeting Nick's friends had exhausted Judy even more than she already had been feeling. Before Judy had nodded off, she'd gotten to meet Mr. Big and Fru Fru more cordially. Turns out, oddly enough, that Nick was really close with them. She didn't really know the story, but it was like Nick was their family. That made her happy, but she didn't stay awake for long, having passed out right on the couch.

She had woken up now though in a bed, lost in her thoughts and unsure of what to do with herself. The first thing that had crossed her mind was her parents, and what she was supposed to do. The urge of wanting to cry had washed over her time and time again the more she thought about it. There was nothing that would come out of her, though. She felt like a shaken soda can with no open lid.

Judy glanced out of the window, watching the snow falling outside. She wrapped her blanket around her, leaning her head up against the wall. She felt as though it was pointless now to do anything. Her parents were dead. . . everyone thought she did it. For a moment she thought about her family members at home. Her grandparents, great-great grandparents, sisters and brothers and even her cousins. Maybe even her childhood bullies all thought she was a murderer. Judy wanted to prove herself innocent in the worst way possible. The first thing she wanted was justice for herself, and then she would make sure to get justice for her parents.

Judy's eyes wandered to the clock. Nine o'clock. She grunted a little in annoyance at having woken up so early. She knew that the others in the household had stayed up late talking, and she'd fallen asleep relatively early. There was nothing to occupy herself with now.

Well, there was the television. But the last time she'd watched the television, her world, or whatever was left of it, had crashed to a billion pieces. Then the thought in the back of her mind came up. Maybe there would be an update on her parents.

With that, she picked up the remote and turned the news on in an instant.

There was a live broadcast going on. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Bogo talking to a crowd of microphones and cameras.

"But this prompts a question: where is Judy Hopps?" a reporter asked. This question seemed to make Bogo stiffen a little.

"We aren't sure exactly of her location, but we do have a lead. We would like to keep it private in case she is watching this. But now, someone else on the ZPD crew would like to speak."

Bogo stepped aside from the podium, and to Judy's surprise, Clawhauser stepped up. He seemed nervous as he stepped up there, and for a minute he was silent. Then the voices began to all speak up again, but one strayed from the crowd.

"Did you know Hopps?"

"I didn't know her personally, but from who she was, I would've never thought she would do anything like what she did."

Judy's paws scrunched in fury. She wanted to scream, or throw something at the television right then and there. She wanted him to know, she wanted Bogo to know, she wanted all of them to know that she wasn't guilty!

"So how will you go about tracking her down?" another voice peeped up. Then, something weird happened. Clawhauser was talking, but Judy couldn't hear because she was distracted. She was paying attention to his hands. She jumped up, running to the television to get a better look.

Where are you? Who has you?

Straight out of the blue, he'd begun to speak the questions in sign language. Judy was nearly fluent in it. When she was younger, one of her siblings had been born deaf. With having so many kids, it wasn't exactly a surprise for one of them to not be born with hearing. So before implants had been provided at an older age, all of the Hopps kids were taught sign language.

She stared in shock, questioning what in the world prompted this. An uneasy feeling made house inside of her. Was Clawhauser speaking to. . . her? But why? What reason would he have for that?

Judy pondered on it for a few moments. Just like that, Clawhauser had come on for a second to talk, then was gone again in an instant. That was all he had wanted to say. He was asking someone, clearly someone who was not there, a question.

There was no reason for him to be speaking to her. There was no way he knew that she even knew sign language to begin with.

Her thoughts were broken when the door opened. Nick stopped in his tracks, seeing her sitting in front of the television.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be awake." He said. She got up, turning the television off. Trying to ignore Clawhauser's strange sign language, she focused more on what Bogo had said.

"They think they know where I am. Bogo said it himself just a few minutes ago."

"I doubt they'll find us. No one has told them where we could possibly be anyways." Nick said reasonably.

"We have to prove them wrong." She said, balling her fists. "They have to know the truth, Nick. It'll kill me if they never find out."

The fox's claws dug into the doorframe a little. He felt her pain, and knew her desire to get the justice for her parents.

"We're going to." Nick promised. There was a lot she wanted to tell him, like how she was sorry she'd dragged him into this mess and how she was going to get him out of it alive and free of jail, but she just swallowed it back. Before she could say anything, he started to say more. "I know it's hard. If I were you, I don't think I would be able to handle it. We both deal with pain in different ways obviously. . . but like I said, I'm worried about you Carrots. I don't want you to straight up destroy yourself over this."

Her violet eyes searched his face. Her fists were already balled, but hearing that made them tighter.

"I'm already destroyed. My reputation is forever ruined, my parents are dead and thought that I was a psycho when they died, and Bogo wants me in jail! This is a disaster that I'll never get out of, Nick! There's no point in trying, we'll never be able to beat the system. And because of what I did. . . because of the dreams I had chased after, it cost me my parents and my life. I hate myself for it."

She paused, letting the words sit with herself. It felt good to finally tell someone.

"Don't you say that!" Nick replied in desperation, slamming his fist against the wall in frustration, causing her to jump a little. "I don't want to hear you say things like that. So what if you chased your dreams? So what if you wanted to do what you desired? There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Nick. . ." Judy trailed off in concern, seeing that the light on his collar had begun to change to orange.

"You have to stop thinking this way now Judy. You aren't destroyed yet, but if you let your mind wander then surely you will be destroyed!"

He walked up to her, bending to meet her level. "I know that you want to hate yourself because of what happened to your parents, but you can't! They wouldn't want you to. . . to manifest this hatred for yourself!"

Judy gasped a little when she felt arms wrap around her. She was lifted off of her feet, and she was still with shock.

"I can't let somebody that I. . ." Nick trailed off. "I can't let somebody that I care about say this about themself, Judy. I know how it feels and it almost destroyed me, too! But I won't-"

Nick's words were interrupted as his collar let out a crackle of electricity. Judy let out a cry of pain as she also felt the shock electrocute her, and she fell back against the ground as Nick let her go.

It had lasted for a few seconds, and had been relatively painful.

She was stunned for a moment before she pushed herself up.

"Nick!" she crawled over to him where he was laying on the ground. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking up. One paw rested against her mouth, the other grasping his own. Tears had swelled into her eyes. An immense guilt flooded over her.

"I'm okay," he said, sounding a bit drained. Her head hung in shame.

"I. . . I made you electrocute yourself. . ." she said, her anger at herself storming inside of her. "I'm sorry."

"It's been years since I've triggered the thing," Nick said, sounding very surprised. "I guess this only happens when I. . ." he hesitated.

"When you what?" she asked, some of her tears finally escaping, disappearing through her fur. He just shook his head.

"It's nothing," he said. If Judy weren't in such emotional turmoil, she would've caught onto his lie, but she felt awful about bringing about the pain to him.

"Come on, if you cry then I'll start to cry." Nick tried to say teasingly as though to reassure her he was fine, but she wasn't having it.

"The last thing I wanted was for you to hurt yourself over me. But what you said was true. I'm just. . . I really am sorry for pitying myself so much."

"It's okay, and I'm okay," he restated, sitting up. He gently reached forward, pulling her into a hug. "Just please listen to me, Judy. You don't have to beat yourself up about what happened. I know it's tempting, trust me I know. I did it for a long time myself, but I'm not going to let you go through that now."

She was happy to have the warmth, and in that moment Judy realized she truly did appreciate Nick more than she thought she ever had. To her now, predators and prey were no longer separated by apples and oranges but were all placed into the same category with no other title than fruits. It didn't matter if some animals used to be violent or if some of them were eaten. What mattered was that now they weren't like that, and that they didn't deserve to be treated the way they were.

Judy felt like Nick was the only one in the whole world who understand everything. She had plenty of family, but all of them must've hated her and wanted her to be jailed just as much as that judging Chief Bogo did. He was the only one she had left. Just a few weeks ago she despised predators, but now everything had changed.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in his arms, but after a while she felt some warmth filling her. Judy couldn't deny that she felt safe knowing that he was on her side, even if it was them both against the world.

"Thank you." She said after a while. He ruffled the fur between her ears.

"C'mon," he said a few moments later, "let's get some breakfast."

He stood, pulling her up with him. She wiped her tears from her face. Nick was absolutely right. She couldn't let her feelings destroy her as much as they wanted to. There was only one thing she could do, and that was fight back against the police. There was no way that she would let that zebra get away with what she did to her.

"I'm coming!" Judy called just as Nick left, dashing after him.

* * *

Clawhauser had waited for a response from Judy for a few days. He had hoped she'd gotten the message he was trying to tell her, and when he saw that there had been a new DVD discovered sitting in the ZPD mailbox, he was more than excited. He hadn't told anybody, not even Bogo about finding it. Having to spend the whole day at the front desk being unable to watch the video drove him up and down the wall.

When he went home that night the first thing he did was listen to the tape, an uneasiness creeping up on him.

There she was again, sitting in front of the camera in the dim light. She looked the same as she did before, and she hardly hesitated before she began to speak. Something was different this time. There was some kind of excitement in her jittery movements.

"I'm glad that you officers listened to what I said about not releasing this video to the public. It makes me truly happy that you guys know that this is serious business, not just child's play."

She stopped for a second and flashed her hands, which Clawhauser had been waiting for, and he began to write down the letters. She continued on with what she had to say.

"I'll tell you all again what you cops should be focusing on, considering nothing seems to have been done. Nick Wilde is a top priority for you idiots. You should be more worried about him than you are about me, just a suggestion. He's the smart one, the clever one who has been sneaking around and looking over his shoulder at you cops all his life. Me, not so much."

Clawhauser kept writing, some of her words being drowned out by his focus.

"He's the one with the big plans. I'm being considerate here, you know? I mean, I'm not the one who plans to take over Zooto. . . oh, never mind."

There was a giggle as she glared into the camera, but it sounded hollow.

"So what's it gonna be, cops? Are you gonna keep chasing after a rabbit, or take the sneaky fox instead?"

Judy paused, and looked up into the camera.

"The plot. . . is worse than you could've ever imagined. Zootopia will be in turmoil. We won't be able to do anything about it. . ." she trailed off. The sound of static could be heard from the microphone, and then she smiled again.

"But that's a good thing, isn't it?"

The clip ended, leaving Clawhauser in shock at the words that he'd clearly translated off of her. The pen slipped from his fingertips, rolling across the paper and clattering to the ground.

 _I'm in Trine Zeel's basement._

* * *

A little while later breakfast had been served, and that's when it was time to talk about business.

"If you get in trouble, Nick, you know you can count on us to help you."

While chatting over breakfast and putting the events of the past hour behind them, it was comforting to hear Mr. Big's words.

"Well, that's why we came here to begin with. We were in serious trouble. Thankfully though, I don't think the ZPD expected someone like me to be friends with the crime boss of Tundratown."

Nick said it a little proudly, wearing his usual smirk. "But now, we need to end this once and for all. So, that's where you might just happen to come in, Mr. Big."

Judy paused mid-way eating her carrot, a look of uncertainty falling upon her face.

"Go on." Mr. Big said.

"We need a distraction. A distraction big enough as to where Judy and I will be able to do some things in Downtown, where the police will all have to be in one place that's, well, not Downtown. Maybe something that can last at least a day or so, you know what I mean?"

"Oh, I know what you mean." The shrew replied a little too quickly, making Judy feel a little anxious. Nick grinned at the response.

"So here's what I'm thinking in order to bust Trine once and for all. A huge distraction happens, taking the heat off of Judy just for long enough so that we'll be able to get around a little easier. From there. . . well, I don't have anything for that yet."

"We're going to investigate the burned down factory." Judy said matter-of-factly. "We're going to need evidence and quite a lot of it. I know I saw books in the hidden room we'd fallen into. That's our lifeline."

"I forgot about that," Nick just nodded, agreeing with her. "We'll start there."

"So. . . who is the 'friend' we're going to be meeting?" Judy asked.

"Oh, just an old friend that I haven't seen in a while."

Judy only nodded, then looked to Mr. Big.

"Um. . . what exactly is the distraction going to be?"

Sitting back in his chair, the shrew thought about it before he answered.

"I have an idea."

* * *

The most sincerest to you guys for being away for so long! School is a killer, you wouldn't believe how much homework I've been getting. I honestly feel so overwhelmed by all of it! But, I still wanted to put something, _anything_ out for you guys, because you guys are just the best!

I also would like to make an announcement about what's going to happen. Normally I would publish a chapter once a week every Saturday, but my creative juices have seriously been flowing. (Writer's block sucks) So, you guys are going to get quite a few chapters within the next week! The reason being: I have three days off next week (31st, 1st and 2nd), and I'll have time to write a lot. This chapter was kind of short I'll admit, but the next chapters will probably be the longest yet. I thank you all again for being patient! I hate to let this story go stagnant, but again, school is seriously kicking me in the rear. (and yes don't worry, this story still has quite a few chapters to go, it's not ending yet!) So, expect at least 3 or 4 chapters throughout the next week! I'm super excited to be writing so much. I guess zoning out during lectures gave me time to brainstorm.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter in the meantime!

 _Reviews -_

 **The Pinball King:** I don't know, that's for you to find out ;) the answer might not become clear right now, but surely it will soon!

 **gameangel147:** I highly appreciate all your criticism and thoughts! Thanks so much for reviewing and reading!

 **BlueberryCarrots;** HAHA your review is priceless!


	9. Chapter 9 - A Spark

"It's nearly done."

Judy and Nick stood side by side in a harmonized horror when they saw Mr. Big's bodyguards dragging the unconscious bodies of a few police officers away into another room. The fox stood rigid for a moment before dragging his paw down his face.

"I didn't think you had this in mind," Nick sighed.

"Um. . . you won't hurt them, will you?" Judy asked nervously.

There was no response however, as a second later, the door burst open.

"I'm the mayor! Get your hands off me!"

The fur on Judy's back bristled when she heard a familiar voice.

"Even Mayor Lionheart?" Nick asked. That's when Judy saw that he was smiling in approval at the situation at hand, his arms crossed in satisfaction.

"It'll cause a ruckus when they see he disappeared. The other cops will just give them more of a reason to start looking." Mr. Big said logically. Two polars had the lion's arms tied back.

"I thought we were allies!" At first, he ignored Nick and Judy completely. Mr. Big shrugged at him.

"We are, but I have to do this for my son."

"Aww," Nick said, waving one paw in a flattered manner. That's when the mayor's eyes drifted. He stared at Judy, clearly quickly getting infuriated.

"You! You're behind this, I should've known-"

"Ah, ah!" Nick wagged a finger. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself now, would you? It's a shame that you're the one predator mayor we've had in years that didn't do anything to try and get rid of the collar law, despite you having to wear one yourself. It's a shame, really."

Judy felt small next to the huge lion, but Nick's comment took the brunt of his anger off of her. There was a snicker from Mr. Big.

"You have no right to be talking!" Lionheart snapped at Nick.

"No, you have no right to even be mayor. What kind of mayor doesn't get rid of a law that's taking away his basic rights to. . . oh, I don't know. . . living? Whoa. That felt good to say to your face."

"And!" Judy quickly interjected, wanting to get a word in herself. "You are unbelievable! You really thought I would kill my own parents, or that I burned down that building?"

Nick only shook his head in disappointment. The lion's lips drew back, but it was apparent he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything because of the restraints of his collar.

"The police will find you, and when they do-"

"Shut up!" Judy shouted, cutting the mayor off immediately. "I was a cop myself, if you were not aware! You were the one who placed the badge over my heart, after all. I did not kill anyone, you'll see. I'll prove that Trine created this setup to frame me!"

Nick nodded approvingly, glad she was expressing her obvious anger. "Honestly, I used to hate predators, but you. . . I see that there are still some annoying and useless predators after all."

Nick had been drinking a super-small cup of tea, only to spit it out at this last comment.

"She got you, man!"

This was a new voice now, one that Judy didn't recognize, but it had to be the deepest voice she'd ever heard in her entire life. Her eyes averted to see that walking around Mayor Lionheart was a small fennec fox, whose laugh was deafening the whole room.

"Just get him out of my sight." Judy grumbled. "He'll never understand or believe me because he's so dense."

"So, you're helping a killer? Stooped this low, did you?" Lionheart demanded from Mr. Big as the laughter in the room died down.

"Friends of Nick are friends of mine." Mr. Big replied sternly. Lionheart struggled in his binds as he was taken out of the room, leaving the three predators and Judy alone. She glanced as the fennec fox and Nick initiated some sort of secret handshake for a few moments.

"This is the friend then?" Judy assumed.

"Judy, meet Finnick. Finnick, meet Judy."

She waved. He nodded in acknowledgment.

"How'd you get yourself in this mess?" Finnick asked his friend.

"It's a. . . really long story," Nick shrugged.

"Well, the van is outside." Finnick said invitingly.

Judy turned to Mr. Big.

"Thank you for trying to help me. I truly am indebted to you." She smiled.

"It was nothing. Part two will happen soon." Mr. Big replied simply.

The odd group of three began to head for the door, and Judy looked up at Nick.

"Part two?"

"Let's hope it doesn't involve blowing anything up." Nick said, half serious and half jokingly.

She laughed a little, feeling a bit lighthearted at this opportunity to get herself proven innocent.

* * *

Chief Bogo tapped his pen against his desk, trying to think about what to do. Now, there was no doubt that Zootopia was in danger. He had been interviewed once again on the live news in front of millions of horrified animals after hearing about the recent kidnapping of Mayor Lionheart. The scariness of the situation was tripled when popstar Gazelle decided to talk about what was going on, much to Bogo's annoyance. Stupid celebrities and putting their two-cents into everything.

That's when his door burst open. If he hadn't been so lost in thought, he probably would've leapt out of his chair. Though now, he just glared up. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Clawhauser had locked the door behind him.

"Chief Bogo," Clawhauser started, looking his boss in the eye. In his one hand, there was a DVD. In the other, there were some papers. The chief sat up as these both were given to him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Bogo demanded when he saw file.

"I did some digging, and I think I might have come to a conclusion." Clawhauser said. "It's strange, but it does make some sense."

Bogo looked down boredly at the child face of the rabbit whose picture was peeking out of the file. The chief had seen this photo many a time, as this specific case went on for about four years. There was never a resolution, and it went unsolved.

"I never knew that Judy Hopps had a twin." Clawhauser stated almost in annoyance.

"Rabbits have twins all the time," Bogo pointed out, "it shouldn't be that surprising."

"No, but they are identical twins. That's definitely not something you see everyday!"

"Alright, are you going to continue to try and educate me on rabbit children, or are you going to give me something worth hearing?"

Clawhauser had a good retort in mind, but stayed level-headed. If he were to screw this up, the chief might not listen to him at all.

"Watch the video first at least." Clawhauser prompted.

Bogo with little hesitation did as he said, and watched the minute-and-a-half video with full concentration. Every word Judy spoke seemed to add more coal to the fire that had been burning inside him. He knew that Nick Wilde was a problem and that he needed to be found as soon as possible from this video. What did Nick Wilde have in mind? Was it all just a trap?

Clawhauser still waited for Bogo's attention to be back on him.

"You think this is Judy Hopps, but it's not."

"What?" Bogo immediately laughed. "There's no way it's not Judy Hopps."

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but think about it!" Clawhauser said. He held his tongue on the information he had in case this didn't work out. If Bogo didn't believe him, there's no doubt he would go to Trine Zeel's house in an attempt to smoke out who he thought was Judy. That was the opposite of what he wanted to come out of this. He lifted up the work file to emphasize his current point.

"Why would Judy Hopps be recording herself and sending them to us specifically? How do you explain the obvious fear, her jittery movements and her state of being in general? She looks so unhealthy, this clearly is not the Judy we know."

"What are you trying to say?" Bogo's eyes were slits.

"What I'm trying to say is is that this is a huge setup! Look at her, can't you tell she needs help? This isn't Judy Hopps. This is the rabbit who went missing fifteen years ago. This is _April Hopps_."

Bogo stared at Clawhauser, then at the small photo inside the work file, then back to the video. Then he looked up at Clawhauser again. The cheetah hoped he would believe him, and they could further solve this situation out. He stared at his boss pleadingly.

"Clawhauser, that is. . ." Chief Bogo began in a shocked tone, searching his face. Then, he stood up, slamming his desk, his wide eyes turning into slits again. "The most _ridiculous_ assumption I've ever heard!"

" _Chief Bogo_!" Clawhauser snapped angrily at his obvious sarcastic revelation.

"Don't you see, Clawhauser? That rabbit is dead. You know, now that you mention it, all the things you said about Hopps's current state is definitely true. Maybe she's doing it on purpose just to manipulate animals like you?"

Bogo sat back down, sighing. Clawhauser had lost all hope of making it through to Bogo. He just stepped away from the desk. Wordlessly, he headed for the door until Bogo stopped him with a grunt.

"Look, Clawhauser. I appreciate you trying to get to the bottom of this case. But I can't have you wasting any more time grasping at straws."

The cheetah didn't know how to respond. Bogo could clearly see that he was angered. However, there was no time for Bogo to be babying his officer. He looked down at the microphone on his desk that would send a message to everybody's radios.

He pressed it and with little hesitation, gave a command. "Find Nicholas Wilde. He is our top priority next to Hopps."

Clawhauser's eyes widened a little. Now he knew that it was in his own hands to save Nick and Judy from their fates. He walked out, closing the door behind him, his mind set on finding April Hopps, and the first place he would be going to was Trine Zeel's house.

* * *

They had been driving for not a long amount of time before Judy felt awkward. She was riding shotgun with Finnick, which she felt a little uncomfortable with. Not because she didn't like him, but rather because she didn't know him at all.

"Are you sure I should be riding up here? What if someone recognizes me?" she'd asked.

"These windows are more tinted than they look, baby," Finnick had replied. Still, she had shrunk in her seat anyway, not wanting anyone to catch sight of her. Nick was somewhere in the back of the van. This left Judy with no choice other than to make small talk with Finnick.

"So. . . how long have you known Nick for?" she asked.

"Since we were lil' kids. We met in an orphanage."

Judy looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"Oh."

"That ain't a bad thing, though. Nick'n I became the family for each other that we didn't have."

"That's so sweet." Judy said half to herself.

"Who'd you think made the guy so damn sarcastic?" Finnick laughed at himself, but then it quickly faded. "Kinda weird to picture the guy like he was back then."

Judy's attention was caught by that sentence. She looked to him, "What. . . was he like back then?"

Finnick's grasp on the wheel seemed to tighten. He kept his piercing eyes on the road as he spoke.

"I guess you could say he was sorta the loose cannon. We shared a room with each otha, and I knew everythin' about him. The orphanage we lived in didn't really help Nick's, uh, emotions."

"W-what do you mean?" Judy stammered, feeling uneasy.

"They didn't like predators, there weren't many of us. So normally, we were forced to wear muzzles. Yeah, innit funny how they let that kinda stuff fly?"

"They muzzled _children_? That's just. . . that's just awful!"

"Yeah, it was awful. But anyway man, that kid was just a trainwreck." Finnick shivered a little. "He couldn't deal with his emotions back then like we all can now. Those collars train ya, whether you want 'em to or not. Even if it puts ya in the hospital to teach you a lesson in how to deal wit'cha sadness and anger."

Judy felt her ears flattened at this statement, and she looked ahead, feeling queasy.

"If ya hadn't guessed by now, he pulled the trigger on that collar 'o his many a time. Scary, it was. Sometimes I was afraid he'd end up killin' himself from it. He'd just cry, 'n that thing would zap him."

"It was that bad. . ?" Judy asked, not wanting to know the obvious answer.

"Went on for a few weeks. It ain't uncommon for a predator to die from the shocks. I would say Nick had built some kinda immunity to it, cause that boy shoulda been dead after the first week."

Judy's heart settled in her throat. The way he said it, so seriously, was terrifying.

"I swear to ya, one night I couldn't sleep 'cause I just kept hearing the thing going off. His mom's death screwed that kid up real bad."

"That's so sad. . ." Judy trailed off, feeling her own anger bubbling up. How had she approved of this before now? If someone can't even express their own emotions without getting hurt for it. . .

"Yeah, he was my lil' crybaby brother." Finnick said jokingly, obviously wanting to get off the topic of Nick's childhood turmoil. "Well, in any event, one day it all just stopped. Nick had learned to be able to express himself in other ways. After that, he didn't hurt himself no more."

Finnick went silent. Judy was still angry though.

"Tell me that orphanage isn't running still."

"Sorry to burst ya bubble, but it is."

"That's inhumane!"

"Sadly, it is, but what're a buncha predators supposed to do, y'know? They weren't all bad in there. One 'er two were nice to us, but that was about it."

Judy leaned back in the seat defeatedly. She just sighed.

"Thanks for telling me about Nick. I wouldn't have expected anything like that to come from someone as. . ." she looked for the right word, "composed as he is. But. . . why do you trust me so much?"

"As much as I find it weird for Nick to be hangin' with a prey, I know it's for good reason. And whoever he trusts, I trust too. Even if you're plastered all over the news for bein' a killer! I can tell ya aren't, you're too much of a softie. Who ever heard of a rabbit killa anyway? Them ZPD be dumb." he laughed loudly.

"That they are indeed." Judy said a little too bitterly.

"Oh look! We're here."

The sun was barely just setting when Finnick pulled the van up to the burnt building. Police tape was circling it. Judy felt uneasy to see this place again.

"Thanks," she said to Finnick.

"I'll be waitin' out here."

Judy hopped from the car, going to the back to let Nick out. She opened the door, and he was already standing there, stretching, jumping down onto the ground.

"That felt shorter than it actually was," he commented. From the way he was acting, it was apparent he hadn't heard anything they were saying.

"I can agree with that." Judy said. Nick lifted the police tape, and both of them headed under. "It was this way."

Both of them walked to the side where a small, broken window was. The glass was lying on the ground around it. It was so narrow that only someone as small as Judy and Nick could've escaped the fire through it. They looked at each other and then nodded.

Judy slipped through first, landing on the charred ground.

"Be careful!" she called to him. Then, she looked around. The books were still here, just as she hoped they would be. A grin crossed her face. Nick leapt down beside her, brushing himself off.

"This place is a dump," he muttered. She pulled out a small flashlight from her pocket and lit up the books. There weren't many, but what did they have inside of them?

Judy grabbed the first book she saw, unsurprised that it was a little charred on the edges, and some of the letters were runny due to it being handwritten.

"This is. . ." she trailed off in shock. "Trine's journal."

"What?" Nick stood next to her, reading the pages. The book was fairly small, more like a pocket-sized notepad than a full-sized journal.

"Look at this." She said, reading the words of the page out loud. " _The recent experiments with our collar production has proven to be a success. It's all being done right under everybody's noses. They'll never suspect that our collars will be used later on for 'Plan Prey Control' the poor things. The change in the collars is simple: they-_ "

Judy was cut off by a startled cry of pain from beside her, and she gasped as Nick fell onto the ground, twitching. She tore around, and in the darkness, she saw a spark in the darkness, and aimed her flashlight toward it. She felt herself grow shaky when she saw who it was, holding a taser in the darkness.

"You!" Judy spluttered.

"Me," Trine laughed.

"W-what are you doing here?" Judy demanded.

"Waiting for you, what else? Well, not you, really. . . I was waiting for him. I knew you two would eventually come here."

She motioned to Nick. The zebra towered over both of them, as she was far bigger in body size and in height, making her extremely intimidating. Judy had never looked at her in the same way when she'd first met her.

"What do you want from me?" Judy begged for an answer. "I'll do whatever you want, just leave us alone!"

"That's a nice offer, Judy, but I'll have to decline."

The zebra grabbed Nick by his tail and dragged him toward her.

"What are you going to do with him? What do you plan on doing with this?" she demanded, shaking the book in one hand. In one quick motion, Trine snatched the small journal from her.

"None of that is any of your business. To be honest Judy, I didn't want anything to happen to you. But I had a revelation! I realized I did need you when I found out that you existed! I could twist the ZPD to my every will and make them do whatever I wanted them to just because of you!"

"What are you going on about?" Judy shouted at her. "You're making no sense!"

"You could leave right now, you know, and just get away."

Judy glanced back at the window, but there was no way she was going to leave Nick. There was no time for there to be any more conversation. She looked back, ready to help Nick get away, but that's when she realized the sneak was disappearing into a door from the other side of the room.

"No! Wait!" Judy cried, running for it, but she was too late. The door was locked. She pulled and pushed it, banging on it with her fists. "Nick! I'm coming!"

There was no response. Panic flared up inside her as she turned and ran back to the window.

She jumped up, starting to crawl out when she realized that she wasn't alone.

Judy looked up in shock.

Two familiar and hateful eyes stared down at her, two fists lunging and wrapping around her wrists. She hung there, halfway through the window and halfway out, looking up at none other than Chief Bogo. She couldn't find any words to say, she couldn't find anything to do.

A few other cops stood nearby, all glaring at her. Chief Bogo had a smile plastered across his face.

"Looks like your reign of terror has ended, Hopps."

"No, wait! Nick is in danger, you have to help him!"

"Yeah, sure he is. You have the right to remain silent."

"I don't care what you do to _me_ , just help _him_!" Judy howled at him desperately. She was lifted up and pinned to the ground. She squirmed, trying to get away. Two cuffs locked around her wrists.

"You don't even know what's coming yet, do you, Hopps?" Bogo asked.

"No, _you_ don't know what's coming! You're going to get an innocent citizen killed if you don't listen to me!"

"That's _enough_ out of you, Hopps!" Bogo snapped.

Nick felt entirely useless as he listened to the conversation outside from the darkness of the burned building. All of his limbs felt like jelly thanks to that good for nothing taser. His mouth was being covered, so he couldn't even call out. He tried to get himself freed, but he was being held too tightly to even barely breathe. The next thing that Bogo faintly said took any remaining air out of Nick's lungs.

"You, Judy Hopps, don't even know how much trouble you've caused. You're a killer, a kidnapper and a liar, and your crimes need to end now. Oh, yes, did you think no one would notice when some of our cops and our own mayor went missing? Even if we don't know where they are, we sure do know with no doubt you were behind it. So, Judy Hopps, from the way this is looking, you'll be receiving the death penalty."

* * *

 _Oh boy._ Looks like things are getting more and more crazy by the second, am I right? I'll probably see you guys very shortly, around Tuesday or Wednesday perhaps for an update! I really wonder what that zebra is up to, though... hmm.

 _Reviews -_

 **boomballing56; I'm glad you think so! :)**

 **; aaaaa Thank you so much! I'm so glad to have a new reader!**

 **Brennie438; I'm happy you think that it is! I hope it gets even more interesting... especially with this chapter.**

 **The Pinball King; HAHA. Your review made me laugh. I think that really would be funny if Clawhauser did end up doing that! At this point, maybe he will, who knows? And actually, as far as the ZPD goes, there's no tracking chips in the collars but hey, with a bunch of sneaks running a collar making company, it's a possibility that they'd be able to track them.**


	10. Chapter 10 - April Hopps

It had not taken long for the young mind of April Hopps to realize what was going on. She was stuck in the backseat of a car after being ripped straight out of her own backyard. April was being kidnapped. Next to her grown captor, she was puny. She was fearful. No, she was absolutely terrified.

It was all silent. The fox hadn't spoken ever since they entered the car, but neither had the little rabbit. There was nothing she could do now, this was all out of her power. She looked back longingly as the Burrows grew farther and farther away. She started to feel panic, but she somehow managed to push it down. If she acted out or seemed scared, she might end up not getting out of this unscathed.

Was her family looking for her right now? Were they scared too? These and other related thoughts seemed to swarm April.

"Interesting," she perked up at the driver's voice, and she slowly looked up, "I would have expected you to be bouncing off these walls by now."

"N-no ma'am." April replied uneasily.

"Is this scary for you?"

"Yes," she said nervously. There was a sigh, and the rabbit straightened a little.

"I could only imagine. . ."

"U-um, do you feel bad or something?" April asked. The fox's head turned slightly, but she did not make eye contact.

"I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm doing it because I have to."

"Why?"

"You see this?" At a red light, one paw wandered over into a compartment where a collar was laying. April had noticed she wasn't wearing one, and tried to understand where she was getting at. "This thing is an injustice to the name of predators. I don't have to wear it if I do as I'm told."

The young rabbit wasn't getting it at all, most likely from the look on her face. The predator closed the compartment and looked back ahead.

"It'll make sense soon."

April did not understand, obviously, what she was trying to say. So she stayed quiet in hopes that maybe she would be let go. What would any of that collar business have to do with her?

For some time they had been driving when they came to a stop. April didn't recognize where they were. She knew it was part of Downtown, but this seemed like the more wealthy area which was unfamiliar to her. Her kidnapper exited the vehicle and opened the door, staring at her grimly. She prompted for her to come out. The rabbit simply listened to reason, knowing if she were to step out of line something bad might happen.

She got out of the car and looked up at the massive house in front of her. A three-story mansion stood in front of her. Little did she know that it would be her prison for years to come.

Outside by the front door was the tall figure of a zebra. She gulped, suddenly feeling nervous. What was going to happen to her?

"So I see you followed through, Shelby."

He spoke not to April, but to the fox beside her as they walked up to the front door. April glanced to see her only nod in response. "Good. Might want to start covering your neck in public, then."

The fox's eyes brightened a little. April realized her kidnapper had gained freedom from her restraining collar by doing the dirty deed.

"Thank you, Mr. Zeel."

April flinched when one hoof moved toward her roughly, grasping her wrist. She felt a chill run down her spine as a sudden fear gripped her more tightly than this Zeel guy was. She looked back to the fox in fear. But her kidnapper didn't look at her, she focused on the ground.

"Oh, no, thank you." The zebra responded, flashing a slick grin before opening the front door.

"W-why do you want me?" April asked, suddenly terrified. She was pulled into the doorframe. Again she looked over her shoulder desperately for the help of Shelby, but the fox was already leaving. Wistfully she looked back ahead as the door closed behind her.

In awe she looked around the room. The first room was a massive living room. On the right, there were stairs that lead to the second and third floor. On the left was a fireplace and multiple couches and chairs sitting around it. A chandelier hung from the ceiling. But she didn't have enough time to take in all the features.

"Take a seat."

It was more of an order than an invitation. April had stayed calm externally for all this time, she could still try and pull it off. She swallowed roughly and headed over to one of the chairs that were definitely too big for her. She sat straight as the zebra sat in front of her. He stared for a few moments as though to fully take her in, then, started talking.

"I know you must be confused on why you're here, but there's good reason. It just so turns out that you, inside of you, is the key to fixing Zootopia once and for all."

April felt her ears flatten a little.

"Inside me?" she echoed.

"Oddly enough, you were born with a specific bloodtype that's extremely rare, also known as AB negative. Are you at all familiar with this knowledge?"

"How do you know if I didn't know that myself?" she automatically asked, feeling a bit creeped out.

"I have connections," was Mr. Zeel's response. "However, that's besides the point. There is a specific chemical in your blood that I need."

"Uh. . . why?"

"How I know the effects of your bloodtype is unnecessary for you to know. What you should know is that if your blood is to be injected into somebody else. . . let's say a predator, there's something about it that is able to numb the senses of said predator."

"I don't understand. . ." April admitted.

"The chemicals of your blood, if injected into another animal, has a temporary effect on them which will numb their senses. It's as though they're asleep when they aren't, and you can get them to do things. As if they were robots."

April uneasily understood now. She wasn't quite sure where this was going, or why her blood was so special.

"S-so why do you need me?"

"I'm currently in the development of a new type of collar. If you didn't know, I'm the CEO of Collars Incorporated."

"But you're going to make a collar that brainwashes predators?" April asked.

"You could say that. I look at it more as. . . a bigger picture. A world of Zootopia where I have control of all the predators, just because of a little chemical. So that's where you come in."

April tried not to look shaky. She felt scared because of what he was telling her. If what he was saying was true, that he could easily have mind control over all of the predators of Zootopia, then what would he do with that power?

"And how do you feel about that?" The zebra questioned.

"I-I just want to go home," she admitted, "I don't really know why I'm here to begin with. If you wanted my blood, you could've asked. . ."

"No. We needed you here permanently. I'm sorry to say that you probably will never be able to see your parents again, until the predators of Zootopia are taken care of."

April felt her heart skip a beat. An undeniable anger began to rise out of her, but she forced it down. "For now, you'll have to wear this at all times. It will shock and paralyze you if you try to escape and trigger an alarm. Seeing as there'll be someone here at all times watching over the house, there's no point in trying to escape."

April had no time to squirm away as he'd gotten up, placing a collar around her neck, snapping it shut. She felt herself grow more fearful than angry.

"For now, I'll leave you to get accustomed here. But soon, I'll have to be drawing blood from you. In order to make Zootopia right again, I will need your assistance."

The rabbit trembled a little. She didn't want the predators of Zootopia to be brainwashed. That would be terrible! She looked up, seeing from the staircase a pair of bright blue eyes watching her.

"You'll be better acquainted with my daughter. We are the only ones in this house aside from you."

"Who is that?"

April turned her head a little to see that the pair of bright eyes belonged to a much smaller zebra, who was wearing a quaint blue dress. She stared at April from the bottom of the staircase.

"This is our new guest. Her name is April Hopps. She will, more or less, become good friends with you considering you are her age. Hopps, you're free to go. Tomorrow we start our blood drawing."

April watched as he exited the room, and she felt complete horror consume her. She pushed herself off the chair, glancing at the girl she'd been left with. April tried to keep a straight face, because in that moment she was very scared and very lonely. She didn't know what was to come in the future, but she didn't like it.

"Hi! I'm Trine! I hope you like it here."

April was a little surprised at this friendliness.

"Y-yeah, me too," she stammered.

"Come on, I'll show you around the house!"

* * *

Years had gone by, and despite that, April could still not get past the wooziness she always felt after having so much blood taken from her. She had crashed pretty badly after her last drawing, fainting during the process. For that, she felt ridiculous. She'd been awake a few minutes, curled up in her bed and not wanting to leave it. She looked down and rubbed her forearm, the place where the needle had been still leaving a twinging pain behind.

Her sleep left her feeling more drained than refreshed. It was then however that her door opened, and in popped a very familiar face.

"Hey, you awake?"

"What's it look like?" she responded to her best friend.

"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. You should be happy!"

"Nah, I should still be asleep."

"April, it's your sixteenth birthday for crying out loud! Happy Birthday! Now get out of your bed!"

"Wait, what?" April sat up, genuinely in shock. "I thought that was tomorrow."

"Way to forget something so important," Trine rolled her eyes. "You know what we had planned!" There was no way April would've forgotten. They had planned a movie marathon, which the rabbit gladly agreed to. But she felt uneasy.

"And do you know what your dad had planned?" April asked, unamused.

"He never tells me anything. . . so not really." Trine shrugged. April sighed.

"Apparently today we were going to do the first test on a predator using one of his new collars."

The zebra's excited expression seemed to falter.

"Oh," she muttered.

"But it's fine. I'm sure it won't take long, right?" April said hopefully as she got up. Her head ached a bit, but other than that, she felt better than she did before she passed out.

Over the years she had learned more about what Mr. Zeel had planned to do with her blood. She wasn't very educated in terms of science things, as she never went to school, but she did understand the concepts brought to her.

She learned that, if someone were to have her blood injected into them, that it could potentially kill them, as most bloodtypes were not compatible with hers. That wasn't what her captor's goal was, he didn't want to kill them. He was developing part two of his plan to slowly build up the immune's blood system of the other predators without making it obvious to them.

Once a year, the predators would have a change of collars. Each collar would contain some of this medicine that was placed into it that would, somehow, build up the blood's immunity. While the animal is asleep, two small rods will poke through their skin and inject said medicine.

April didn't like it, she never did like it from the day she was brought to this house. She knew something bad was coming out of this whole entire thing. All she wanted to do was go home. If they even remembered she existed. . .

She pushed the thought far away from her and got ready for the day. Once done, her and Trine descended the stairs, unexpectedly finding a guest in the living room. Both stopped at the base of the staircase, the two teens both sharing a feeling of sudden uneasiness.

"Just in time, Hopps."

There was the gruff voice of Mr. Zeel. The head of the mysterious person sitting on the couch turned. April did not want to ever see this face ever again. It was the face of the fox who had kidnapped her all those years ago. She seemed to be shocked when she saw April, but she didn't speak.

The rabbit couldn't determine if she hated her or not for being the cause of her being prisoner. April at this point wouldn't really consider herself a prisoner. She was best friends with Trine and could live around the house like normal, but she had never advanced in any relationship with Trine's father. He only treated her as a living bundle of information and potential experiments.

"Why is she here?" April asked, not realizing she was balling her fists.

"Because she'll be the first to try our new collar. So come and take a seat."

April didn't like the way he said it. 'Our' collar. April wanted nothing to do with his work.

The two walked over to sit on the other couch across from the fox.

"Could we make this quick? I've got someone waiting in the car outside." The fox glanced up, sounding just as uneasy as Trine and April felt.

"It won't take more than a minute." Mr. Zeel said, wearing some kind of grin. April guessed he was pretty excited considering this collar had been an experiment in the making for years now.

He walked over to her, placing the collar around her neck. It locked into place a moment later. The zebra walked back, looking down at a button he was holding. With no warning, he pressed it.

The fox cursed under her breath, trying to rub at her neck as the two little rods pricked into her skin. April's stomach began to twist when the effects were almost immediate. Her eyes dilated, and her paw dropped to her side. It was just as Zeel had described all those years ago. April's face twisted with horror, unable to accept the fact that this was all of her fault because of some chemical. It terrified her to see that empty look in her eyes.

There was laughter of success that filled the house, Zeel looking completely overjoyed at this. April shakily looked toward her friend to see she looked shocked, but not horrified. The rabbit tried to keep herself calm. It was a few minutes of this, Zeel closely examining the fox's distant-mindedness until slowly, she started to come back.

Her eyes turned to normal, but she gasped for breath as though she'd been suffocating. April was frozen in place, still terrified of what something inside of her could be so capable of doing.

"And how was it?" Zeel asked cheekily, still happy over his success.

"It was terrible!" the fox spluttered, attempting to rip off the collar. "It didn't even feel like I was there! I couldn't do anything. . . how is that okay at all?"

"That's the point! That's what I've been working on all these years."

"B-but why? Why would you do this?"

Zeel's expression seemed to instantly turn dark at the question.

"Because I'm avenging my wife."

"B-by having control over all predators?" the fox asked, taken aback. "You know, I don't even want to know. You're not going to get away with this! Once the ZPD hears about this, I-"

There was one swift motion from Mr. Zeel upon hearing this. He'd been standing a few feet away, but what he did next neither of the girls expected.

Both of them stared in absolute horror, April's paws clasping over her mouth to hold back a scream.

It was as though he had prepared for her to want to tell the ZPD, because the knife he had on hand was no small knife, but a butcher knife that could cut to the slightest touch. It was no longer in his hand, but stuck through her torso.

The fox had hardly processed this herself as slowly and shakily she looked down. She wheezed for a moment before falling onto her side, tumbling off of the couch and onto the ground, becoming still.

Mr. Zeel stared down with a coldness that only a killer could have. April stared, her mouth still agape. Trine was beside her, having the exact same expression. Neither of them had fully taken it in yet.

Suddenly, the front door opened. April felt panic swamp her. She remembered the fox's words from a few minutes ago: I have somebody waiting in the car. So in walked that said somebody, total unsuspecting to what he was about to see.

"Sorry if this is rude, but we'll be running late if we take any longer-"

It was a male fox who wasn't even halfway through the door before his eyes widened at the scene in front of him.

The scene was entirely messy and terrifying to behold.

"W-what did you do to her? W-what is this?" he stammered, visibly shaking.

"Well, now you've seen too much as well. It's awful that I'll have to berid of you as well."

The fox's ears flattened, but his lips drew back as he reached into his pocket. What he pulled out stunned everybody in the room. April felt herself clinging onto her friend's arm, terrified. In his paws was a gun. Mr. Zeel's eyes widened, not expecting this at all, obviously.

"Now, we can talk about this. . ."

"No! You killed Shelby! W-why should I 'talk' about this with you?" he yelled.

"Just put the gun down. . ." Mr. Zeel insisted.

"No." The fox's shaking began to settle as he came to a decision as to what he would do with the murderer in front of him. He started to put the gun down, and there was a tension break in the room.

"Good. Wise choice, boy. I-"

But Mr. Zeel would never finish what he was saying. In one quick motion, he pulled the gun back up, firing it with no hesitance. The shot was absolutely deafening. From the force, Trine's father was blown back, slamming into the ground.

April felt herself begin to tear up, shaking so much she thought she might collapse into a billion pieces. Trine had run over to her father where he was laying, shaking him. It was as though April's hearing had failed her. She couldn't hear anything. Even though she saw Trine and the fox screaming at one another, all she could hear was her own blood rushing through her ears as she tried to stay awake. She felt as though she might pass out.

That's when she watched as Trine got up, running toward the fox. He had no time to move as she twisted the gun around in his paws and pulled the trigger herself. Even in such close range it knocked him a few feet away.

April could not believe what Trine had done just a few moments ago. She slammed the door closed, crying hysterically. April stood, her legs feeling like jelly.

"T-Trine, I'm so s-sorry. . ." she tried to force out. She was shocked when she turned to see Trine's eyes land on her. There was a darkness in them that she'd never seen before.

"This is all your fault!"

* * *

Not gonna lie, I thought so hard on what I was going to do with this chapter. I wanted go give a chapter insight on April's backstory, especially with how the last chapter had ended (because you know I just couldn't get back to Nick and Judy just yet) this chapter took so long because I had to plan it out carefully. The whole collar plot had to make sense, and Trine's motives had to make sense as well. And I kind of wanted to reveal some of the 'evil plot' that Trine seems to have. This does not give full insight, though. I did want to show a little bit of April's past though so I hope the chapter comes across well!

I'm also really happy that the last chapter got so much good feedback! :) I might write a part 2 to this chapter, but I don't know. You guys let me know if you would want to see more between these characters. I love you guys so much!

Reviews -

 **Shiv740;** thanks so much for the kind words! I appreciate it!

 **Extreme Light 9;** thanks so much :)! And yes, it isn't Judy.

 **The Pinball King;** AHAHA honestly I laughed at the thought of that too. I'm grinning so hard right now at your review. We'll find out more soon in the next few chapters I'm sure ;) LOL

 **BlueberryCarrots** ; I feel the same way not gonna lie. hehe

 **Just Me;** I feel so complimented right now! Also, that was my inspiration for this story. I really loved the whole collar concept and it made me so motivated to create a story. I pity poor Nick as well, it honestly would suck to live in a world where you're forced to wear a collar around your neck that belittles you and who you are.


	11. Chapter 11 - Promises

Hey guys! I wanted to apologize sooo much for not updating in a _month_. This won't happen again, I assure you. My life has been pretty busy as of late. Any spare time I have I'm doing other stuff or working on projects - I realized I was neglecting this, though, finally got past my writer's block and wanted to put out a chapter. I understand it's really short, and I apologize for that! But the next chapters will make up for it. I promise! (they're seriously gonna be long - I already started working on a few, and they're already longer than this chapter. haha)

Seriously though, thanks so much for all of your patience! I'll be updating this regularly again since life has calmed down a little. And thanks so much for the wonderful reviews, I really appreciate it!

* * *

Nick, once the gag had been removed from his mouth, immediately began to spew words of hatred and anger at Trine. The fox's adrenaline was running through him so fiercely that it willed him to not give up. It was there as barely a small lick of light trying to stay alive in the dark. His body, still stunned by the taser which had sent electric shocks to and fro down his spine a second time since the first as he attempted to get away from her, was finally recovering.

However, his captor only just began to scoff down at him and his protests, dragging him across the wooden floor by his wrists. He squirmed and wriggled, attempting to scratch her or inflict any damage whatsoever, but failed, only injuring his own pride. Catching his breath and trying to be any sorts of civil with his kidnapper, he just looked up at her smirking face.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, begging for an answer. "What did Judy ever do to you?"

"I'm not the one who's doing anything to Judy," she answered cockily, "it's the police who are."

"Don't be smart with me!" Nick snapped angrily, trying to push down the urge to lash out again. "Answer me! Why did you do this?"

"I'm not entitled to tell you any of my business, Wilde, so therefore, I don't have to say anything."

"I won't stop asking until I get the answer I'm looking for!"

"Okay, I guess I'll tell you just a little bit," she said, still slowly walking through the house to reach her destination. "To tell you the truth, I never intended for Judy to get into this mess. She just kind of. . . did. When I found out who she was, I was ecstatic.

"For what reason?" Nick inquired.

"At first I planned to use Judy to help me take over Zootopia, but I was already using somebody else for that. So, I used Judy as a distraction instead. I can't tell you much else, you have to see for yourself."

Nick's fury flared up once more, and in one swift action, he found the strength to leap onto his feet, tearing both of his wrists free. With a swipe full of claws, he tore them across his kidnapper's face, his lips drawn back in an enraged snarl.

Stunned for a moment, Trine paused, slowly reaching up to feel her cheek. Some blood dripped from the wound. Nick had already made a run for the front door. It was coming up and fast, until something sharp hit his back, making a crackling noise.

His body went limp as once again, he was struck by the taser, twitching against the floor. He forced himself to stay awake, his blackening vision being hard to fight off when he could hardly move or focus.

"Still have more fight in you, huh? You ingrate! I brought you here so you didn't have to die, and this is how you pay me back? I'm saving you from being killed!"

As though he were a ragdoll, she tore him up by one arm. Breathing had turned quite difficult for him as he forced himself to look up. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Just as they had on that day when he rescued Judy from the burning warehouse. Her eyes judged him, but for a moment, they became gentle.

"You don't have to die for her, Nick. You can stay with me and live."

"You're c-crazy. . ." he struggled to say as he finally started to gain back his feeling in his limbs. Her expression hardened a little, but the sympathy still showed.

"I know that it's hard to lose someone you love, but be grateful that you aren't dying alongside her."

Nick's eyes widened a little at her words. The pain that had staked his heart seemed to begin to tear it. She knew how he felt, there was no pretending to hide it now. Nick had not admitted it to himself until he realized he'd lost Judy that he had grown closer to her in more ways than one. He truly did love her.

"Now, we don't want you to get electrocuted again, so it's time for you to play quiet in my basement until the world is under my control."

He hardly realized, as he glanced down at the dark, orange blinking light on his collar, that once again he was going to trigger his collar. Shedragged him along - this time, he had no rebukes. He had no curses, no rage, no physical fight left in him.

He thought about how Judy must be feeling right then. If they were to truly put her to the death penalty, how would she be killed? Shivers ran down Nick's spine, causing his muscles to ache. He wasn't going to let her die, he had promised that to himself. He told her he would get her out of the situation she'd so wrongly been put into, if it cost him what little reputation he still upheld.

A door creaked open, and Nick's eyes averted to a dark flight of stairs that led down to the basement.

"Play quiet with your roommate now, okay? The next time you see me, I'll have all the world at my hooves."

"Room-?"

He couldn't finish what he was going to say as Trine flung him down the stairs. He had no energy to cry out or properly react to the stinging he experienced on impact with the stairs, and only accepted that he would be down the stairs soon.

The light disappeared, leaving him in pure darkness inside the basement. He only lay still against the cold ground, trying to recover once more.

His ears flicked as he heard another animal's breathing close by. The word 'roommate' popped into his mind again, and an uneasiness overtook him. Nick was fair game to any predator, and he only assumed the worst when it came to this zebra. She would be the one to have a predator locked down here with him.

"A-are you okay?"

His suspicions quickly faded when his vision began to clear in the dark. The outline of the animal was small. He still had adjusting to do before he would be able to look at whoever it was more carefully. The timid voice was strangely familiar, but he could not place who it reminded him of.

"I've been better," Nick answered, holding onto his side and clenching his teeth, breathing heavily. He looked up, seeing the faint outline taking on some more shape, realizing she was tied to a poll that went from the basement floor to the roof of it that sat in the middle of the room. Whoever this was, Trine obviously did not want to escape.

"You're hurt. . . can you move?" the animal asked him.

"I'll be alright." He waved off the concern. "How about you? Are you fine?"

"Well. . . I'm not hurt, but I'm not fine."

Nick managed to gets his bearings back, starting to crawl along the floor over to the tied up animal.

"Are you the one she's trying to. . . take over Zootopia with?"

There was silence, but a very hesitant, "Yes," response after a moment.

"And do you want to take over Zootopia?" he questioned her, feeling the coals of a rage begin to fester inside of him until she answered him.

"I. . . I never did. I never wanted this to happen."

He relaxed a little as he realized that she was just another victim to Trine's doings.

He was close enough to her now, reaching around in the darkness to try and loosen the thick ropes that bound her wrists to the metal poll. Finally, his eyesight had almost cleared.

"We're going to get out of here together. In the meantime, tell me why you're here and how long you've been here." Nick said as he bent down, beginning to gnaw on the ropes.

"Well. . . I've been here almost my entire life. It wasn't this bad before, until her father died. It's a long story, but. . ."

She trailed off.

Nick waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, he paused, looking up.

His eyes had completely adjusted to the darkness, and as he glanced he saw that her eyes were the size of saucers, her mouth drawn into a smile.

"You're Nick Wilde!"

He didn't even hear that, though. He was lost in her appearance. Judy. . . this rabbit looked so much like her, like a complete identical of her, yet the cops had her. . .

Nick's realization hit him like a brick wall. This wasn't Judy. The voice was similar to Judy, the appearance was Judy, but yet this wasn't Judy. This was Judy's twin!

"You're. . ." Nick said breathlessly, feeling like he'd been stabbed.

"I'm April! You're the guy that is trying to help my sister! Uh. . . are you okay?"

He realized he still was staring at her dumbfoundedly.

"Yeah, I am. How. . . do you know about me?"

"You're all over the news." She pointed out, as though it was the most obvious thing that he was oblivious to.

"Right," he nodded. "Honestly, I can't believe you're alive. I wonder what Judy will say when she sees that. . ."

He halted mid-sentence.

"Oh. . . she must think I'm dead, huh?" the rabbit said, her ears drooping.

"Your whole family thinks you're dead, but that doesn't matter. They'll know that you're alive soon enough."

Nick continued to gnaw on the ropes, which were nearly entirely snapped now.

"How can you be so sure? I mean. . . they probably have forgotten about me by now."

She pulled her wrists free from her restraints. The fox, completing the job, clung onto the poll, trying to support himself. All of the electrocution had taken a toll on him, but there was no time to be resting now. She looked at him worriedly.

"There's no way they would've forgotten you, especially your parents. But. . . your parents. . ." Nick trailed off.

"I know," she said miserably, her tone quickly becoming bitter. "Wherever they were killed, it wasn't here. . ."

Nick dug his claws into the metal which he held onto so tightly. He had to keep himself calm, though - the last thing he wanted to do was trigger his collar at a time like this. The basement was fogged with stress. Both the animals were in distress, and both of them needed to make a move to get out of there.

"She's not going to get away with this. I promise." Nick said determinedly. "I promised Judy the same. I told her we would fix everything. And I intend to stand by both of these promises."

The twin smiled. "I appreciate that you're trying to help us. Even if at this point, it could cost you your life."

Nick was a little taken aback by her words, and searched her face for a moment. Before he could respond, there was a slam from the house above them. Both of them flinched and stared at the ceiling, there was silence that followed.

"She's probably just. . . having another fit again." April said uncertainly. Nick just shook his head at the zebra's insanity. Once more he was reminded of how infuriated he was at the entire situation at hand.

Hours had passed, and conversation continued between them as Nick tried to find any ways to escape this cell of theirs.

Nick's aching head was finally starting to give in, his alertness beginning to shut down. He was slumped against the wall, frustrated with the searching that never got them anywhere.

That was, until, there came a crash that woke him right up. Both April and Nick nearly leapt out of their fur before they both turned, seeing light shining down into the darkness that was the basement, the door, which had been kicked in, tumbling down the stairs and lying flat on the floor. Then, it was silence.

The two stared as a shadow appeared in the doorway. Nick squinted, not being able to see who was there.

"April Hopps!"

The yell was unfamiliar. But the rabbit perked up instantly, her eyes widening. A smile crossed her face, and she got to her feet, running to the staircase. Nick could now see a semi-familiar cheetah face that he'd seen once or twice before.

"You found me! Clawhauser, you got the message!"

The rabbit's voice cracked with emotion and excitement. At the base of the stairs was a police officer, who hugged onto the small rabbit. She easily had started crying, realizing that her times of torment would possibly come to an end now that she could leave her prison.

Nick stood, walking over. He put his paws in his pockets, feeling light-hearted at the event unfolding in front of him. Clawhauser was smiling before he looked up. His eyes widened a little.

"Nick Wilde."

"That would be me," the fox responded. "So let me guess, you want to arrest me?"

"No," Clawhauser replied, much to his surprise, "Judy is innocent, and you are too. I knew it when I first realized that April was posing as Judy under Trine's will. Speaking of her. . . she's not here."

Nick's fists balled. There was a determination that had flooded back into him.

"Judy is in danger. We need to get to her now."

"You're right," Clawhauser said with a frown. "She's received the death penalty."

"Not if I can help it." Nick instantly responded, walking past him and starting up the stairs. "We're going to get her out of there safely if it's the last thing I do."


	12. Chapter 12 - Injections

Judy and Finnick had both been jailed, but Judy had been taken from her cell to be interrogated.

Judy kicked and squirmed as two of Bogo's cops held her arms, holding her high off of the ground.

"Let go of me! Nick is in danger!" she howled, twisting herself. "She has Nick! He's going to be killed!"

"Hopps!"

There was a booming voice as she was lead into the white room. The two cops still held onto her, and she had no choice but to stare up at the Chief. Her heart was going to choke her if it pounded any harder or rose in her throat any further. Judy's panic had nearly completely consumed her, and she tried to keep her grasp on reality as Bogo walked up to her. Almost immediately, extreme rage had alighted inside of her, like someone had thrown a lit match into a puddle of gasoline.

"You did this to me!" she yelled at him, still thrashing.

"You did this to yourself, Hopps. Do you remember what we first spoke about when I assigned that case to you?"

"I don't hate predators!" Judy snapped at him. Her adrenaline was still fighting inside of her. "Maybe. . . maybe you knew! Maybe all along you knew that the zebra would decide she should punish me and try to take everyone I love away from me just because of the way I used to think!"

" _Used_ to think?" Bogo scoffed, bending down slightly to her level. "You're insane, Hopps. You killed your own parents over your hatred."

"I. . . _did not_. . . kill my own parents!" she weakly tried to insist, the reminder of her dead parents coming back to haunt her.

"And you still won't admit it, even when you're about to receive the death penalty?" Bogo stood, shaking his head. "It's animals like you who disgust me. There's only you and I, and I got your recordings, Hopps. Now that I've got you, you need not lie any longer."

"Recordings?" she questioned in bewilderment as tears pricked her eyes, daring to cascade down her cheeks. The tone in which she said it caught Bogo's attention, and for a second he applauded her on pretending as though she didn't really know she recorded it.

"That's enough, Hopps."

"You're so concerned with me that you let that zebra take Nick away! Don't you know what'll happen? He'll be _killed_!"

"I doubt he was even there to begin with, Hopps. We searched the premises."

"He was!" Judy yelled, her true fury beginning to shine through. "She's going to kill him just like she killed my parents, and she's going to get away with it because you're so hung up on an innocent _bystander_ to all of this!"

At this point, she'd completely cracked and had begun to break down. Her cries were so intense that it hadn't taken long for her to start hyperventilating on the spot. The two cops looked up at their boss with an obvious discomfort.

"Alright boys, drop her. I'll take it up from here."

At the same time a little all too quickly they dropped her, where she fell onto the ground in a heap of an emotional mess. Judy was terrified. She didn't want to die, especially not like this and not this early. She didn't want to go out knowing that Nick would be dead and that him and her parents would never receive the justice they deserved.

She thought back to the day on the farm where he sister was kidnapped, and one by one it was as though those self-loathing thoughts had begun to shine should've been kidnapped instead. You should've died in the burning building, because then your parents still would've been alive. Nick wouldn't be in danger right now if you would've just sucked up accepting not having your job. It wouldn't hurt so bad if you didn't love him. You're a failure.

As though she was dead roadkill, Bogo walked over, holding her up by her one wrist. The rest of her body hung limply in the air, and she opened her weary eyes to meet Bogo's, which were just as judging as the day she'd met him. Judy in the back of her mind had hoped that maybe, maybe he would take mercy on her. He would let her find Nick and make sure he lived before killing her. . .

But this was not the case.

Judy was placed into a chair and sat upwards. On normal occasion, no one would be executing a rabbit, as they were normally peaceable creatures. This one must've been custom made for her.

"Please! I-I don't care if you give me this penalty anymore, please, just let me find Nick!"

She tried to leap away, but it was too late. Her arms were laid flat against the arm rests, and cuffs buckled her in by her wrists and feet. There was no escaping now.

Bogo glanced over at someone and nodded, and a badger, who had been standing at the edge of the room walked over. She picked up a needle, giving it a small squirt as a silvery liquid dripped down the tip of it. It was filled with a drug that would be used to euthanize her.

Judy would've tried to brace herself if she wasn't sobbing. She was sad and she was afraid, and there was no hiding that fact.

But Bogo knew that what he was doing was right. He had to put her out of her misery, once and for all. She wasn't who he thought she was. He felt betrayed by her numerous facades. Lying about hating predators, being hesitant to take up her first job. Maybe, just maybe, if he'd assigned her parking duty instead. . .

"Do you have any last words, Hopps?" the Chief asked, trying to keep up the hard-faced look he was putting on. Seeing her like this made him extremely uncomfortable and also made him feel some pity, but when he remembered what she had done, all of the pity disappeared.

The rabbit managed to control herself momentarily, looking up. There was some inner determination left over inside of her that finally appeared. She took in a shaky breath before preparing to speak.

"I didn't kill my parents, and I don't hate predators anymore. I learned a lot from this experience," she tried to talk steadily, but her voice was disrupted by her hyperventilating with nearly every word she spoke. "I learned that I could love predators, even if they've done wrongs to me. . . a-and if you were to let me live, and save Nick, I could p- _prove_ that fact."

Judy waited with hope that Bogo would finally see. He looked at her in interest for a moment. There was a change in his expression, as though something had dawned upon him. Silence between them, besides for Judy's hics. Finally, he sighed.

" _Okay_ , Hopps," he started, and a smile spread across Judy's face in hope, but it quickly disappeared as he continued, "in response to what you say. . . I'm _disgusted_ that you would try to manipulate me like that. I'm smarter than _that_ , Hopps."

Judy's pupils became small, and a sense of dread swamped her. She felt like she was drowning. Her teeth clenched, and she shook violently, but she wasn't done yet.

"No, you're not smart at all! You'd be able to see that I've changed, Bogo!"

"That's enough, Hopps-"

"I'm not done!" Judy shouted, silencing him, anger appearing in his face. "If you can't see. . . if you can't see that I. . ." she almost hesitated to say the words, "That I've come to _love_ Nick Wilde, then. . . then you're blind!"

"A likely story, Hopps." The water buffalo shook his head in disdain. "You know how it is nowadays. Predators and prey rarely get along. And seeing that you've hated predators for so long, I doubt you could come to care for a predator within such a short time."

"Well. . . well. . . I _DID_!" she yelled. Bogo just shook his head in disapproval. "I can't watch someone else I love die! So please. Bogo. . . Chief Bogo, _please_. . . let me find him and make sure he's okay."

Bogo walked toward her, bending down to her level from where she was strapped in her chair. He had thought about what she said a lot, and the pleading and desperation in her voice was evident. Maybe Hopps did give two tails about what became of Nick Wilde.

"I can't let you go, Hopps. You're a criminal. Maybe you'd kill Nick Wilde, who knows? But, I won't have him killed. Maybe you could be more at peace knowing that. He might spend a long time in jail for association to major crimes and helping out a murderer. . . but he won't die. As soon as this is over with, my men will go out and find Nick Wilde."

She searched his face, wondering if he was genuine or not. Something told her he was lying just to make her relax, and as a result, she could not calm down.

"Admit it, you'll kill _him_ too!"

"Hopps, I've no more time for you to be trying to defend yourself."

Judy squirmed in her binds, desperate to get out, seeing as the badger moved over toward her, the needle in paw. The predator seemed to give her a forlorn look, and her collar was blinking yellow. That didn't stop her from moving toward Judy's arm, though.

Judy thrashed violently, hoping that somehow, the belts would grow loose and she'd be able to run away. She just had to see Nick again. She couldn't die knowing that he was in danger. With little hesitation, the badger stuck the tip of the needle into the rabbit's forearm, which she could barely move.

The rabbit's heart fell into her stomach, and a sense of nausea came over her. This was _really_ happening. Judy Hopps would go down in history as one of the only rabbit murderers in all of Zootopia, who killed her own parents. Her parents died thinking she was crazy, and only one fox truly knew that Judy was innocent.

And Nick was about to die, too.

Judy closed her eyes, waiting for the liquid to enter her veins and put her to sleep forever. A smile passed her face as she remembered all of the happy times she had with her parents, and how she was so grateful to Nick for helping her try to get out of this mess. It was as though she was waiting forever when her eyes flashed open at an infuriated shout.

" _Get off of her_!"

Judy's heart instantly soared when her eyes flashed open, and before her, she watched as Nick pulled the badger back, tossing her away where she went sliding across the floor.

"Chief Bogo!" she recognized that voice as well. Bogo tore around, obviously furious, glaring at Clawhauser.

"What's the meaning of this? _Why_ are you here?"

Immediately the rabbit began to thrash a bit in her binds again when she stared at Nick. Her heart was bursting with joy at the sight of him being in one piece.

Nick slid the point of the needle away, tossing the serum aside carelessly as it shattered on the ground. Quickly the fox was able to undo her cuffing, to which Judy threw herself at him.

He felt warm against her, and she felt a comfort and relief wash over her. She felt safe in his arms. Even the familiar cold from the collar around his neck made her feel at home at this point.

"I'm so sorry," she heard Nick say. He was holding onto her so tightly she thought she might burst. She laughed shakily through her tears.

"S-stupid fox, I thought y-you were dead for sure." She said in stammers.

" _Me_? I thought _you_ were dead, Carrots."

She snuggled deeper into his fur, still crying. She was so close to death that she was in a shock from still being alive.

"So Clawhauser, I have to place you in jail as well? For assisting the enemy?"

"You've been wrong all this time!" Clawhauser shouted at him in frustration. "Judy from the recordings isn't the Judy we know. It's _her,_ just as I suspected!"

Judy's ears perked in confusion. From where she was in Nick's arms, she turned her head, and all the air was sucked out of her when she saw who was standing a few feet away. Clawhauser was pointing to someone who Judy never thought she'd see again.

There was her twin, standing in a defensive way, staring at Bogo, anger visible in her eyes. The water buffalo did a double take for a moment before looking back to Clawhauser.

" _What_?"

"April Hopps has been missing for years and the ZPD was never able to find her. It was because she was hidden away so well that we would've never found her. Don't you see? She was the one behind the recordings!"

Nick at his point had realized Judy's shock and placed her on her feet. April's eyes glanced to Judy who stood there in absolute amazement. The ex-cop's sister had the same reaction. Neither of them had seen each other in years.

"Is that. . . really you?" Judy asked, somewhat in disbelief. April didn't say anything as she slowly walked up to her. Both of them examined each other for a few moments, and there was silence before April smiled and hugged onto her sister tightly. Judy was still in shock, but hugged her back. If she had any tears left in her, she would have probably cried there.

"Now, which one is which?"

Judy turned to Nick, and just laughed, still struggling to get her breath under control despite being nearly entirely calm now.

Clawhauser watched Bogo carefully, knowing that he was entirely in shock. He knew he'd screwed up, and there was no getting around it. Bogo had almost executed an innocent animal, one of his own cops. He realized that Clawhauser and Judy had both been correct.

Nick moved over to the sisters, laying a paw over both their shoulders protectively. Judy was still regaining her bearings, huddling close to Nick like a child.

Bogo's fists balled, and he finally looked at the both of them.

"I'm sorry," he started off, "I'm sorry, Hopps. It was wrong of me to. . . I just. . ."

For the first time in his life, he was lost on what to say.

"It's okay," Judy said earnestly, all of her anger for the water buffalo seeming to disperse at once, "I know you didn't know but. . . still. It was. . . _scary_."

"I could never be fully forgiven for almost killing you, Hopps." Bogo said. "It was unjustified, unconstitutional and wrong. And Clawhauser," he glanced at his officer, who was standing by expectantly, waiting for him to talk to him, "I apologize that I didn't investigate it with you further."

The cheetah nodded in acknowledgement of the statement.

"Everything's going to be okay now," Nick said, smiling. Judy nodded, her heart still beating fiercely.

"Hopps, what do we do now?" Bogo asked. "You started this case, and now you'll finish it."

Judy straightened, trying to recover what little dignity she had left at this point.

"We go after Trine before she does anything else."

"I was afraid you would say that."

The slick tone, the cocky attitude; Judy flinched, looking to see that on the other side of the room, Trine was strolling in carelessly like she had nothing else in the world to do. She had a piggish smile on her face.

" _You_!" Nick instantly snapped, and he held the two rabbits a little tighter.

"Oh yes, me. Hi Nick, how are you? Well, I hope my taser didn't hurt all that bad earlier. No hard feelings?" she gave a small snicker, and stood tall. "So, you want to arrest me, isn't that right?"

"To think that I believed you, nearly killed my own officer, and _now_. . ." Bogo was clearly enraged at her presence.

"Oh, calm down. You'll be my officer soon enough anyways!"

"What are you talking about?" Clawhauser asked, clearly not understanding, just as the rest of them didn't.

"First of all, cheetah, were _you_ the one who broke down my door and communicated with my best friend through sign language? Because, I have to say - I'm impressed, really."

"I'm. . . I'm not your best friend!" April yelled from where she stood, looking shaky.

"Oh, really now? It's a shame you feel that way." Trine began to walk in their direction. "Because remember? We're best friends until the very end. Isn't that what you said all those years ago?"

"All those years ago before you used me for your stupid project and locked me in a basement!" April shouted at her, angered.

"Don't get any closer to her." Bogo warned. "Trine Zeel, you're under arrest."

"If only you two would have cooperated." Trine said boredly, and from her pocket, she pulled out a small button. Judy felt uneasy from the sight of it. April looked terrified.

" _No! Stop!_ " April begged, but it was too late.

Trine hit the button, a sickly grin revealing her white teeth was plastered over her face, ear-to-ear.

On cue, Clawhauser fell to the ground, grabbing at his collar in an attempt to get it off.

"W-what's happening?" Judy asked, horrified.

"It's. . . it's her project. . ." April said, eyes wide.

"What?"

"She's brainwashing people using the stuff infused inside of those collars."

"How. . . how is that possible?" Judy stared in shock.

"Your time of torment is over, Zeel." Bogo snapped, walking toward her. But she was faster. From her hand she pulled out a needle, a serum filled with clear liquid, sticking it into his neck. He instantly paused in surprise that she'd managed to trick him that easily.

"W-what is that, exactly?" Judy asked, unsure of what to do about the events unfolding in front of them.

"It's the chemicals of my blood infused with something else. A secret that she didn't tell me." April whispered.

"We've gotta help him then!" Judy exclaimed in horror, but it was too late. Bogo's eyes had dilated, leaving nothing behind except hollowness. The two rabbits could only stand by, powerless. Now the room had three brainwashed animals; Bogo, Clawhauser and the badger from earlier.

"Nick. . . we. . . we gotta-"

Judy turned, but looking up, she saw the same distant look in his eyes. Her heart flew into her throat, and she turned, gasping when she saw Trine tearing April away. The twin looked desperately at her sister, but there was nothing she could do.

"Run Judy!" April shouted as Trine dragged her away.

"Oh, and Judy? Sorry I had to do it to Nick, too. He was a nice guy, really. It's too bad. But really, if I were you, I'd probably run. There's just about an endless amount of zombified predators running rampant right now. Not to mention I opened all the cells in this station. That should be fun to run from!" Trine laughed.

But Judy wouldn't accept it.

"Come on, Nick. . . don't. . . don't do this to me!" she hung her head, pressing into his chest. A growl woke her from her pain, and she looked up to see Nick looking down at her with that blank stare, but he was ready to sink his teeth in her.

She tore away and began to run, shaking all over.

"Live!" she heard April's voice echo throughout the room as she pushed open the door. She glanced back, seeing Nick and the three other brainwashed animals hot on her tail. The last thing she heard was Trine laughing as though she were insane. Judy had to escape - she had to help everyone!

She tore around a corner, but something caught onto her. Claws grasped around her body and pulled her back.

 _This can't be the end - not now! It can't be now!_ the thought flew through Judy's mind, but whatever had grabbed her had no intention of hurting her. She was pressed back against the wall, a paw covering her mouth, and she didn't speak or squeal a word. Running past faster than she thought they ever would run was Bogo and Clawhauser, going down a hallway.

Judy breathed in relief as they were gone.

"You okay?"

To her joy, it was Nick's voice. She turned, looking up at him.

"Y-you're okay?" she asked in surprise.

"I never did get my collar replaced all those weeks ago, after all. . . so, I think it's only the wearers of the newest collars."

"It would make sense. . . so you faked it?"

"There was no knowing what that psycho would've done to me. We lost your sister again, Carrots. . ." he trailed off in frustration. "But I couldn't just leave you alone. I had no choice but to fake it."

"I understand. . . but how are we going to get out of here?" she asked, still clinging onto him.

"We'll find a way. . . and we'll get your sister back, too." Nick said. "I'll get you out of here for sure, Carrots. I just need you to promise me one thing."

Judy looked up expectantly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"If I get caught in this mess, you have to promise me you'll leave me and continue on to get out of here."

"Nick, I won't do that! It's either both of us getting out of here, or neither of us!" Judy snapped. He chuckled, then sighed.

"Promise me something else, then?"

"If it has to do with you dying, then I'm not promising anything."

"No, no. Promise me that when all of this is over. . . that you'll go on a date with me as repayment?" he smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, but her face grew warm.

"I promise."

"I'm keeping you to that."

"We can talk about it later. Let's just get out of this place before we die." Judy pointed out.

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

I think I'm spoiling you guys! Already an update so soon? Wow, and on a weekday, too! HAHA okay, but seriously, this might've been the funnest chapter to write.

Well, anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it! Things are really heating up. Trust me, this story is not over yet! It still has quite a few chapters to go. Thanks so much for all of the support you guys give this story! I'm really happy that so many people are enjoying. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	13. Chapter 13 - Escaping Downtown

Nick and Judy had been creeping around the police station for what felt like hours, but in reality, was only a few minutes.  
Both of them felt anxious, naturally, in a scenario such as this.

"I think I've seen this in a movie once." Nick had said jokingly to try and lighten the mood.

"Sure feels that way." Judy answered, unamused. They both were in hiding as the zombie-like predators roamed the halls. From their place beneath a desk, the two waited for an opportunity to escape. "What're we supposed to do?" the rabbit asked, pressing closer to her companion as the legs of a wolf passed by. Nick just sighed.

"Considering I might be the only predator who isn't brainwashed right now, I don't know." The fox admitted in an uneasy whisper. "We need to create a distraction."

There was some silence again, and then came a growling. They both became rigid at the sound, but then a look of realization dawned on Nick's face. From where they both sat under the desk, they watched as a small figure strolled by. Nick's eyes widened to see it was Finnick. Judy remembered that Trine had said she'd let all of the animals being held at the station out of their cells, and she looked to Nick.

The fox hated to see his friend like that, wearing an absent look in his face as though he wasn't there inside of his own head. He closed his eyes, knowing he had to help him.

"Carrots, get ready. I'm about to do something really stupid."

Judy didn't get a chance to respond before Nick lurched forward, grabbing his friend by the collar. He slammed back into the underside of the desk, clamping the maw of the fennec fox shut. Instantly, Finnick retaliated, mindlessly trying to attack him.

"How are we supposed to get it off of him?" Judy whispered in panic, trying to hold onto him despite him fighting madly.

The fox looked around, trying to see if there was any alternative other than breaking it, which would most likely end up electrocuting the fennec. His green eyes wandered up to the wall of the office where he saw it hanging there - their only chance at getting Finnick back without hurting him.

They were common to have on hand in the police force, in case things got out of hand. A little mechanical object with only one purpose: to deactivate and unlock a collar. In the case where a collar were to malfunction or maybe cause a threat to the predator's life, it was an easy and fast way to get the collar off. It reminded him of a barcode scanner like the ones at grocery stores - with one easy click, the collar would unlock. He'd seen them used before, and was confident he'd be able to wield one on his own.

"Hold him tightly. I only need two seconds." Nick said, turning to Judy. A scared look was in her eyes, but she nodded in understanding, her grip tightening on the fennec.

He slowly let go. Nick leapt up, running to the wall. The black collar-scanner rested in his hand, and he quickly turned back. Finnick, despite being small, was really putting up a fight against Judy's trained resistance.

Nick made no haste in running over, putting the scanner against his collar and pulling the trigger. As soon as he did it, the collar popped free, and Finnick came to a halt, as though batteries had been torn out of him. Judy sighed in relief as he became limp, collapsing onto the floor. Thankfully the commotion had somehow not drawn any attention from the other predators, and so they took a second to recover from the scary moment that had just played out in front of them.

Finnick's eyes opened, and he held his head, groaning. Nick instantly covered his mouth.

"I know you were zombified just now, but could you not be so loud?"

"Ugh. . . my head's killin' me," Finnick muttered. "What happened?"

Quickly, the situation was explained to Finnick, his mouth curling in a snarl when he heard he'd been brainwashed. "What kinda. . . what kinda stupid plan is that? Don't she know that it'll never work?" Finnick grumbled, rubbing his head.

"Well. . . it's kind of working as we speak." Judy pointed out, fear evident in her voice. There was a small beeping, though, that caught the rabbit and fennec fox's attention. Both of them looked in Nick's direction - his collar's trigger indicator wore an orange hue.

Nick, however, was paying no attention. He was staring down at the collar-scanner, his heart racing. Was this really Nick's time to finally be free? All of his life, for as long as he could remember, he'd been stuck in a stupid collar, oppressed by the majority of society - the devious prey who enjoyed his suffering. There was an excitement to finally feel freedom. The cold of the collar had always been there, and it had become a part of him. But now, it didn't have to be a part of him anymore.

"Go on. Do it." Judy encouraged him eagerly. Nick hesitated for only a moment, but pressed it to his collar. He closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger.

There was silence, and Nick opened his eyes again, realizing that the collar hadn't come off. He tried again, pulling it harder, but to no avail. The collar wouldn't come off. He instantly felt frustrated.

"It must be compatible with new collars only." He said wistfully, frowning.

"Man! And here, I thought that I'd see Nick Wilde without his collar! I'm disappointed, seriously." Finnick shook his head in disapproval. Nick shoved the scanner into his pocket, sitting back in annoyance.

"Well. . . better luck next time?" he questioned, mostly to himself. Judy's violet eyes searched his disappointed face, and he looked up, raising his paws in front of him. "It's fine, really. We need to focus on getting out of here."

"I need to get to my family." Judy said in realization, her ears drooping. She grasped them, pulling on them, her eyes slowly widening. "They. . . they could be in danger. Serious danger."

"Hate to break it to ya, but getting to the Burrows in one piece isn't going to be easy." Finnick pointed out.

"I. . . I know, but. . ." Judy shut her eyes, as though she was picturing what might've become of her siblings and grandparents. There was a comforting touch that rested on her shoulder. Nick smiled at her.

"They'll be fine. Not all of them can be as dumb of a bunny as you, right?"

A small laugh rose out of Judy, but it quickly faded.

"I hope so."

Nick then thought hard about what they could do. He looked out from under the desk, not seeing any other predators nearby. All three of them remained silent until Nick finally got an idea.

"Mr. Big said he was planning a distraction. A huge distraction. That's what we need. A distraction."

"Whaddya mean?" Finnick's eyes narrowed.

"I mean that we use Mr. Big's distraction to our advantage."

"Wait, what? Did you find out what he was planning?" Judy asked. The fox smirked at her.

"I'm practically family to Mr. Big. I know exactly what he was planning for months now."

"Months?" his two friends said in unison.

"He told me he was planning on doing something to get back at the prey for a while now. I mean. . . it's not like he's got a few explosives plotted for one of the railroads."

Nick shrugged casually, as if it wasn't that much of a deal. Judy and Finnick looked at one another before they looked back at him, as though he had two heads.

"He could've killed innocent animals!" Judy pointed out.

"Hey, not so loud!" Nick said in a whisper. "That's why he didn't end up doing it. None of them would've ever been detonated without someone to do it. All along I knew that it was possibly his 'huge distraction' but at that point, we were desperate. Anything could've happened to us at that point. We needed anything to get the heat off of us, Judy."

"I get it, but. . . that's crazy."

Nick didn't hear her, though. He was thinking aloud.

"Maybe he actually had planned to burn down that prey-only icecream shop." He said, rubbing his chin. Judy didn't try to ponder on the icecream shop factor too much because it seemed ridiculous to do such a thing to an icecream parlor, and shook it off.

"Yeah, I hate that place," Finnick agreed solemnly, an annoyed look on his face.

"Okay. . . I really am tempted to ask about what all you guys have against that icecream place, but I'll leave it for now. Nick, which railroad?"

"It's the one that leads to the Burrows." Nick said. "He's got nothing against cute little bunnies like you or anything. He just wanted you all to, well, pay some extra taxes after the railroad blew up."

Judy dragged her paw down her face, sighing. Then, she froze, realizing that Nick had indirectly called her cute. She was thankful for her fur, which hid the blush that instantly rushed to her cheeks. Nick simpered for a moment, but now was no time for fooling around.

"Okay, but the thing is. . . the explosives might be gone. I don't know. I know where he put them, though. . . but I feel like if he'd cancelled the idea a month ago, he would've gotten rid of the explosives after. It was risky planting them as is, so I guess retrieving them would be even riskier. It's our only chance though. We have to get out of Downtown before we can start to do anything else, and unless we want a hoarde of predators and possibly prey on our tails, we have to cut off the exit way. Getting back here is the easiest part."

Judy and Finnick were quiet, taking in what the clever fox had to offer. Finnick, after a few moments, burst into laughter.

"That's the most insane thing I ever heard, man! Let's do it!"

"Hey!" Nick clamped his mouth shut, but it was too late. There was the noise of feet stomping by, closely followed by some growling.

Nick peeked around the desk, his ears falling flat when he saw that it was the angered face of a jaguar.

The other predator and prey also followed Nick's sights, and both of them had the same reaction.

"Nice kitty?" Nick asked, smiling. But the jaguar only arched back, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Okay, not nice kitty. Get ready!" Nick said warningly.

In one leap, the jaguar nearly slammed into the desk, just barely missing it. As a result, this gave them an opportunity. As fast as they could they went into action. The trio darted out from their hiding place, all three of them hopping up onto the desk and gliding across its shiny surface. There was a roar of anger from behind them.

"Don't look back!" Nick yelled as they ran from the room and out into the hallway. The main room of the police station was just up ahead. There were other predators walking the hall, but none were as vicious as the jaguar chasing them on all fours, so none pursued them.

Judy slammed the door to the station's lobby open, and only gasped in horror. The other two skidded to a halt, catching their breath. The lobby was a disaster. Normally there would be police officers like Clawhauser working the front desk, but now, the room was only filled with zombified predators, strewn about and aimlessly walking around.

Nick, despite what he had said moments before, looked back. The jaguar had just freed itself from the small office, and was headed toward them.

"We've gotta go!" Judy cried. Without another word, the three took off again. The huge predators around them varied in species, but all of them were bigger than the three small mammals.

Some of them turned head, and others ignored them. A few had even joined in on the chase. Nick had begun to notice Finnick falling behind, and so he quickly wrapped an arm around his friend's waist, holding him tightly in his grip. Finnick was too out of breath to thank him.

Judy and Nick continued forward strongly, heading toward the revolving doors. Without hesitation or any time available to stop, they both jumped through, quickly becoming encased in the tough glass, slamming into it hard. They didn't stop however, as there was roars and fury still coming out of the predators who had started the chase.

The fresh air hit them as they quickly pushed open and escaped the revolving door, and they took only a moment to catch their breath.

"It's like an apocalypse," Judy said, her paws on her knees. "Why would anyone want to do this?"

"I don't know, but right now, we've gotta get to that train station." Nick said, straightening. "It's our only chance of getting out of here. Are you ready?"

The rabbit nodded, and both of them looked back, seeing the revolving door begin to open, one massive jaguar paw creeping through, feeling its way across the ground. They were off again, running through the crowd. They maneuvered through the gaps where predators walked around mindlessly.

Nick looked around to see if any prey were around, but they weren't. It was as though everyone had evacuated as soon as they could. That wasn't the reality, though - in truth, animals had took shelter all over the city, hiding wherever possible. Alleyways, buildings, even underground. This serum that had been injected into them wasn't just a mind controller - it changed them, too. It made them hungry to destroy the prey, but the trio could not fathom why.

From where they were now, the train station to the Burrows was not far. They had to hope that the train was actually there, and for second - that the explosives were still there too. Closing off the entrance after them would prevent them from being followed by a massive, mindless hoarde and create a distraction big enough to keep them preoccupied. The major purpose behind it was to also prevent the Burrows from being overrun by them; the Burrows was, statistically, around 95% inhabited by prey. The chances of many predators being there were low. The one main entrance that lead there needed to be destroyed in order to keep it a safe haven.

It was as though they'd been running for hours by the time they finally took another break. The train station was close by now, not more than a block away. Nick suddenly became nervous. They were out there all alone with a bunch of ready-to-kill predators, and they were taking a massive risk.

Once more they set off, and much to all of their relief, there was, in fact, a train sitting there, ready and waiting. The doors were opened, meaning that any passengers on it should've been off by then. Some still walked around the train.

"Alright. This is good, this is good. Listen to me closely."

Nick finally dropped Finnick, who brushed himself off. The fox reached into his pocket, pulling out the collar-scanner. He handed it to Judy, who took in, confusion clearly shown in her face.

"Why-"

"I want you and Finnick to get on the train. Use that to try and protect yourself if there just happens to be a predator in there with you guys. I'll be on right after you two, but I need to start the timers on the explosives - if they're even there. The second you get on the train, start it. I'll hop on once I'm done."

"It's too risky-" Judy tried to insist, but Nick shook his head.

"It'll be fine. I promise that I'll come back."

"In one piece." Judy said warningly.

"Yeah, yeah. Now go before we get spotted." Nick said.

Judy and Finnick both ran toward the train, leaving Nick all alone. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He was nervous about the possibilities that could come out of this risky of a move.

Creeping by, he snuck past any predators who were looking and walking around. He crept to the train station, looking down at the tracks. He knew exactly where he had to go now.

Looking down into the gap between the track and station's deck, he leapt down. Gravel rested beneath his feet, and he bent down. The piece of metal that held up the tracks had a small gap beneath it. This was, in fact, where the explosives had been planted - right on the underside of it.

He got on all fours and crawled under. He sighed in relief to see that they were there still. From above him, he heard the train creaking, and realizing he was taking too long, he reached forward toward one of the explosives, waiting to trigger the timer on one of them.

That's when he heard a hiss in the darkness, and he froze, inches away from the buttons. His eyes darted, and that's when he saw two dots staring at him, glowing in the darkness. A terror gripped Nick as he surveyed the circumstances of the situation. He tried to calm himself, thinking maybe the predator hadn't seen him, and cockily reached forward, pressing the two buttons on each one.

The predator still hissed, its teeth being revealed as it angrily watched him. As his vision cleared, he could see that it was a possum - it was smaller than him, but it still posed a threat.

Still keeping eye contact and never blinking, he began to push himself out, but his heart pounded when he wasn't moving. Nick Wilde, the hustler of many years, the slick fox, the one who never got into a sticky situation, was, in fact, in a very sticky situation. He was stuck.

In an instant panic, he scraped against the gravel, but it gave him no grip. The possum had had enough of a staring contest, and from the other side, began to run at him. Nick's mind screamed, and somehow he didn't aloud, but with all instincts telling him to get away, he somehow broke free from his awkward position, finding ground in the gravelly dirt.

Nick slammed back against the deck of the station, the possum just barely missing his face. He leapt up, tearing himself over the side. His heart pounded, rising in his throat at the adrenaline and fear he was currently experiencing.

"Nick!"

The call was far away, and Nick looked up to see that the train was almost out of the station. Judy was leaning outside the door, waving at him. He began to run, turning back to see that the possum was still hot on his tail.

"I've come this far, this far - and you're not going to stop me!" Nick yelled at it. Other predators seemed to hear it as it echoed, and their heads turned in the direction of the train.

Any second now, a major explosion was going to take place - and Nick really didn't think he was all that prepared for it.

"Come on Nick!"

There was the voice of Judy again. He'd been able to catch up pretty well, and he looked back to see he was still being pursued by the possum. He'd make a mental note to never piss off a possum ever again.

Judy smiled at him, reaching one paw out. He finally was close enough, and he put out his paw, but that's when it happened.

The explosives blew up, burning flames errupting and flooding the station rapidly. The shaking beneath the ground nearly set Nick off his feet - he stumbled, but somehow managed to keep his balance. Judy had been thrown back into the train from the force of it while Finnick cursed in shock.

Nick once again ran side by side to the train, and was finally able to leap up and inside of the door. He gripped onto the ground, his bottom half having nothing to support him and hanging out of the side of the train. He managed to claw his way up, however, and rolled over, panting.

Judy was lying against the wall of the train, staring at Nick. Both of them looked at each other, and Nick burst into laughter. It was nervous, terrified laughter.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever done."

"I thought you weren't gonna make it." Judy admitted, smiling and rubbing her head.

"I promised, didn't I?" Nick asked, standing up to shut the door, and then, added with a smirk, "And Nick Wilde never breaks his promises."

He went to close it, but then, out of nowhere, the familiar snarling face of the possum leapt at him. It knocked into him, throwing him back into the door. On general instinct he'd screamed in shock, unsure of how the possum had ever kept up with the train, considering how fast it was going now.

It snapped in his face, but he somehow kept it off, shoving it back.

"Judy! The scanner!" he turned his head. She was already up, but just as Nick thought he was safe, the possum moved its head as he missed his blocks. It sunk its teeth right into his forearm. The pain had caught him so off guard he'd felt a rush of anger and surprise as he cried out. In the moment, it was too late to do anything as unintentionally, his collar was triggered, shocking both him and the possum.

Judy tore it off of him shakily, pressing the scanner to the possum's collar. It quickly popped off, and she fell limp on the ground.

"N-Nick!" Judy stammered, rushing over to him.

"Alright, what's-" Finnick had come out of the front of the train, his eyes wide when he saw what was going on. The door to the train was finally pulled shut, leaving silence besides Nick's groans.

"Can you hear me?" Judy prompted, looking down at him uneasily.

"Yeah," Nick said, rubbing his head. "Kinda."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Judy asked, feeling panic.

Nick waved it off. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"B-but you're hurt. . ." Judy pointed out. He raised his arm shakily, wincing.

"Well, a first for everything, I guess," he said.

A few feet away the possum stirred, gripping onto her head. She blinked, looking over at the other three animals. It was probably the strangest trio she'd laid eyes on, but she was far too confused to even question it.

"U-um. . ." she stammered, uncertain as to how she got there or why she was there. Then, a realization filled her, visible to them. "You're those two criminals!"

"Criminals?" Nick asked, his eyes narrowed. "Technically, you're the criminal here, considering I was assaulted by you a second ago."

She cocked her head a little.

"What?"

"Oh, here we go, explainin' it all over again." Finnick grumbled. 

* * *

Hey again guys! Wow, I don't think I've ever put a chapter out this late on a school night haha.  
But I got a stroke of inspiration out of literally _nowhere_ , and couldn't let it just go to waste!  
It's kind of crazy that this story is already on chapter 13, to be honest... now, I know I said the last chapter might've been the fun to write, but after this one, I'm not so sure anymore!  
I just wanted to say: thanks to everyone who has kept up with this story. It honestly makes me so happy. I never thought any story I'd written would get over _fifty_ reviews. FIFTY! That's crazy! My goals have all been surpassed, so it's time I set the bar higher I guess! Honestly, you guys blow my mind, I love you all!  
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed over the week - I read everything and your guys' opinions and nice words really make my day so much brighter!  
I was actually planning on ending this story sooner, but I couldn't. I didn't want to after seeing so many people who love it! Now it's going to be twice as longer than I originally planned it to be... hopefully that makes you guys happy!  
Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Feel free to leave a review of what you thought, if you'd like! I appreciate them!


	14. Chapter 14 - Day 394

Nick awoke from his slumber, a late-afternoon sun's rays plastered across his face.  
Immediately, he groaned, turning his head, but it was too late for him to go back to sleep now.  
Despite having felt like he'd gotten a lot of sleep, he felt tired, an unusual occurrence for him.  
He was lying flat against a cold surface, unsure of where he really was until everything popped back into his mind.

In a moment he was sitting up. His left forearm burned with a severe pain that had been numbed in his first waking moments. The fox grit his teeth in frustration, trying to ignore the fact that his arm was ablaze. His emerald eyes wandered down to it, seeing a torn up cloth covering it, which was soaked with blood.

He held his arm close to him protectively, and when he finally came to all his senses, he remembered exactly what had happened. The memories flooded back to him. Even though he'd figured he was fine after the trigger and the bite, he had coincidentally passed out afterward. Nick grumbled a few curses to himself before he realized he was being watched.

Glancing up, on the other side of the train's cabin was his assaulter - the possum. There was a discomfort that swamped him, making his body feel heavy. She looked just as uncomfortable. Trying to still regain his bearings, he instead decided to take in her features properly, as he hadn't gotten the chance to before.

She wore casual jeans - he wasn't quite sure how she'd been able to run on all fours while wearing them without being slowed. A grey, long-sleeved jacket suited her upper half, hiding the shirt beneath. Certainly, he had decided, she was nothing more than a casual Zootopia citizen. Her two pristine, blue eyes would not leave him. It was a stare-off between them until she looked away, a look of guilt visible on her face.

Nick swallowed his anger back, nearly having forgotten the fact she wasn't in her right mind when she'd attacked him. He attempted to think of something to say, but she did first.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to injure you. . . if it makes you feel any better, I got electrocuted too." she started awkwardly, holding her small paws together desperately.

"You weren't there mentally. It wasn't your fault," he pointed out to try and ease her.

"And I'm sorry for thinking you were a criminal. The media is full of lies, it seems. . ."

"Well, we have been on the run for weeks now," Nick said a little to proudly. "I guess we really were considered criminals."

Nick got easily sidetracked from the conversation, however, and looked around the rest of the cabin. He couldn't find his two friends, and it made him a bit alarmed. He was so sidetracked he hadn't realized the girl had walked up to him.

"They're in the front," she said. He only nodded, noticing she could only stare at his arm. "Does it really hurt?"

"Not really," Nick lied quickly, not wanting to bring much attention to it. Truly, he had wanted to reply with, "Why yes, it does in fact hurt and, in a more specific description, it feels like someone has a knife stuck in my arm!" but he kept quiet for the sake of the other two animals on the train. In order to change the subject and end the awkward rift between them, he cleared his throat before holding out his paw.

"Nick, but you probably already knew that," he said quickly.

"I'm Crystal," the she-possum responded before returning the paw-shake.

"So, you haven't gotten off? What for?" he asked. "I figured you might have left considering that you're on the same train as two wanted criminals." He smirked at the last part.

"It's too dangerous back there. There's too many predators walking around. . . Judy told me you guys were the only ones who knew what was going on and how to stop it."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "We know how to stop it?"

"Yes, we do."

Nick's eyes wandered over to Judy, who was walking down the middle of the cabin. He admired her for a moment. The Judy he had met a month ago had evolved into someone completely new. She was more confident and comfortable around him, but still had that same vulnerability she always had.

"So. . . how are we doing that exactly?" Nick asked the rabbit as she leapt onto the seat beside him.

"We can't immediately go into action. We caused a huge distraction to get out of Downtown, but now we need something that will buy us time to get us back in."

"Carrots, no offense, but are you insane?"

"What other choice do we have? Trine's got technology somewhere allowing her to take control of them. We just have to find it and destroy it. That'll fix it. . . right?"

"Are you telling me or are you asking?" Nick cocked his head.

"I'm telling you!" she said, sounding more certain. "There must be a huge computer that is sending the signals to their brains. They have the mechanism that's controlling them inside of them already. Now we just need to cut off the source. We had twenty-four hours to discuss this, after all."

Nick only nodded, until he processed the last few words.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, you were unconscious for a day." Judy said it so casually that it almost hurt.

"Liar."

"It's true!"

"How are we not at our destination yet then?"

"The train might've broken down yesterday. I was kind of surprised when you didn't wake up to Finnick's yelling. But he got it to work again a few hours ago."

Nick just shook his head in disapproval at this

"Judy, could I speak to you privately?" he prompted uneasily. The rabbit was going to respond, but held herself back, slowly turning to Crystal.

"Maybe Finnick needs some company?" she asked, forcing a smile.

"Oh! Sure," the possum easily agreed before starting to disappear in the other direction. The second the conductor's office door closed, Nick let out a loud groan, slumping back.

"Y'know Carrots, I would've appreciated it if you hadn't left me with the girl who leapt on me and nearly tore my face off."

"Nick!" Judy shoved him a bit. "She really was worried. We all are."

"I'm fine," Nick insisted. Her eyes narrowed, but she let it go, sighing.

"Also, when on Earth did you get this?" Judy asked, pulling out a book from her back pocket. It was small, somewhat burned and Trine's.

"I'm a fox, I'm sly - you do the math."

"So you just pulled the journal out of thin air?" she raised an eyebrow at him. His expression became unamused.

"Definitely. No, but seriously - I just pickpocketed it off of her when I got the chance. She was always in paw's reach, after all."

"Well anyway, when you got slammed into the ground it fell out of your pocket. You wouldn't believe what that psycho was writing in here!" Judy said, flipping through the pages. "We'd only briefly looked at it, but her whole plan is written out in here. 'Plan Prey Control.' But if she's prey too, what's her reason for wanting to do this?"

"Good question," Nick answered with a shrug. "I don't know why she would either. It must be a pretty good one if she's willing to go this far though."

"I just hope my family is okay." Judy said, sitting now. "I don't know what I would do if any of them were hurt."

"They'll be fine." Nick said reassuringly. Judy seemed to hesitate as the train began to come to a halt.

"Nick. . . do you have any other remaining family?" she asked him.

"No. It's just my father now." He said. She searched his face in surprise at his sad-sounding tone.

"Nick. . . you know where he is?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "I just never met him."

The rabbit's eyes widened.

"Nick, I didn't mean to bring it up like that-"

"It's fine, seriously." The fox interrupted solemnly. "He didn't want anything to do with me, I felt the same way. He left me to rot in a speciest orphanage, and left my mother to fend for herself."

He fixated on her face. There was a look of pity in her eyes. Nick unintentionally changed the subject.

"I hope you don't look this sad when we go on that date."

She instantly turned away, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"You know, I should have never agreed to that date to begin with," she said jokingly.

"Yeah right - you know it's an honor to go on a date with the Nick Wilde. You wouldn't have ever turned it down, even if you still couldn't stand me."

"I couldn't stand you since the day I first saw you on my television."

She just laughed, causing Nick to feel that warmth inside of him flare up as he took pleasure in getting to watch her adorable, toothy smile. Then, he looked at her in confusion.

"Television?"

"You idiot!" she shook her head. "I wanted to punch you in the face. Some predator was running around with no collar and you just had to put your Wilde two-cents into it."

"You mean they actually put that on the air? I guess I was really famous before we became renowned criminals." Nick said, simpering.

" _It looked like he was having fun to me,_ " she said in a deeper voice, mimicking him mockingly. Nick blinked, and she stared, as though she'd gotten the best of him. To no avail however, as a few moments later, his expression changed to a pout.

" _I'm Judy Hopps from the Zootopia Police Department,_ " he went on, trying to be threatening, " _and I_ don't _want to have a problem here_."

"Shut up!" she shoved him again, flustered at the imitation. He laughed at her embarrassment.

"Not to interrupt or anythin', but we're here."

Both of them automatically froze when they heard Finnick's voice.

Nick stood up, patting himself off awkwardly.

"Where are we going to exactly?"

As Crystal asked, both Nick and Judy finally fully recovered, leaping off their seats and onto the floor beside the other two predators.

"The Hopps Farm." Nick answered. "It's our only option at this point."

The four of them got off the train and walked through the isolated station. A cool breeze blew through the air as if nothing was wrong at all in the world, and that everything was smooth and going as normal.

All four of the animals felt an uneasiness growing on them.

"The Burrows are always so. . . lively." Crystal said.

"Now it's just dead." Judy added uneasily.

They silently started their journey to the Hopps Farm. They encountered no one, not a single soul. Judy walked past the farms and shops in the hopes that they would catch sight of anyone, but there was no one. It was entirely deserted.

The sun had begun to set in the distance, casting their shadows out across the ground. Nick had kept the scanner ready in his good paw, had anything tried to sneak up on them or come running at them. But he couldn't lie to himself that he was definitely feeling worse.

The wound in his forearm had been festering too long with no treatment and had begun to hurt him more and more, but it was more than that. His head was aching and he had felt a tad dizzy, though he was trying to shake it off.

Judy had watched him carefully, since it was unusual for him to be so quiet. She was feeling more anxious with every passing minute. Her family stuck in her mind, though. She needed to get to them and be able to protect them if they were in danger.

Judy anticipated they would still be home. If they weren't, there would be nothing else she could do to find them. They might've evacuated or disappeared to another district.

She glanced out at the empty pastures, her fists balling tightly. What was one rabbit to do about the lives of millions of others? She felt like the entire responsibility was on her own shoulders, feeling that it was her fault all of this had happened.

Judy tried to get the idea off her mind, what April had told her. That it was chemicals from her blood. It made a chill run up Judy's spine just thinking about the fact that somehow they'd found out about this mysterious chemical, pinpointed that she carried it, and then kidnapped her. She bit her lip in annoyance. Had she saved her sister back then, this wouldn't be happening right now.

Judy broke out of her thoughts when she heard a thud beside her. She turned, her eyes widening a little when she saw Nick trying to feebly get back onto his feet.

"What happened?" Judy asked, walking over to him in concern. The other two members of the party shared the same worry, voicing it with their surprised expressions.

"I'm fine," Nick instantly said. Judy stared at him, unconvinced, leaning forward. Her eyes were slits, suspicious of Nick's genuineness. She reached forward, placing her fluffy paw against his forehead, drawing back a moment later in shock.

"You're burning up, Nick. . ." Judy pointed out nervously. "The bite, it has to be treated."

"Really, Judy, you're making a bigger deal out of it than it actually is." Nick insisted again, getting back onto his feet.

"You always were a good liar. I think you're losing your touch." Finnick glared at him.

Judy tugged Nick's hand toward her to examine the wound, but he pulled back. She frowned at him.

"Let me just look at it." Judy said seriously. He stared at her nervously, then just sighed, lending out his forearm to her. She undid his makeshift bandage and her eyes widened. It had been a really terrible bite to begin with, but when she saw it now, it had only grown worse, the raw area looking more inflamed than it already had been.

Crystal stayed silent, only being able to look on in guilt. Judy put the bandage back on, looking up at him.

"This is really bad, I hope you know. I'm not a professional, but I think it's even worse than really bad."

"That made me feel way better, Carrots." Nick grumbled, rubbing his arm consciously.

"Well, come on. We need to get there. There's medicine, and we're gonna fix you up." Judy said. She grabbed his paw, beginning to lead him.

In the back of her mind was the thought of every time one of her little brothers or sisters getting hurt. Rabbit children weren't always the best in behavior and always found themselves in some kind of trouble - it was typical of them to get cut up all the time, running up the medical bills with all the needed stitches. It was the reason why a few of her siblings had gone into the medical field to begin with. Some had even gone off to other districts in Zootopia to work, but a few stayed in the Burrows.

She was silently hoping that maybe, just maybe one of them would be home to help Nick. Judy knew it was critical that he got help. If he had a fever, it didn't mean anything good.

The Hopps Farm was just in the distance now, teasing them with how close but yet so far away it was. She felt a restraint on her paw. She turned, seeing Finnick struggling to hold Nick up, who had, coincidentally, passed out right then and there.

As Finnick lowered him to the ground, Judy was unsure of what to do. She stared, feeling her stomach twisting into knots over and over again.

"We need to get to my house." Judy said nervously. Her heart was in her throat at the idea of Nick dying.

"This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

Finally, after what seemed to be forever, the newest member of the party spoke up. She stared, a look of sadness in her eyes.

"It wasn't your fault." Judy said to her, retrieving the scanner from Nick's paw, putting it in her pocket. "You couldn't have had any control. What I need you to do now is help me get him to that house."

The sun had nearly disappeared in the distance, casting shadows across the dirt ground. Crystal looked at Judy tentatively, then nodded.

Each of them helped to boost the fallen fox up and headed to the farm in the distance.

Judy's heart pounded with anxiousness. Was she risking it all right now? Was she leading them to this house to find no one and possibly end up losing Nick? She closed her eyes, shaking the negativity from her head.

They came up to the porch, and Judy got out from underneath Nick, heading up to the door. From her pocket she pulled out her set of keys, which had stayed there for the ordeal of the past few weeks. Shakily, she pulled out the key to the house, and unlocked the door briefly afterwards.

Shadows from the setting sun cast the room in almost complete darkness, given the exception of two eyes popping open. Then another, and another, and another until it was as though the whole room was just filled with eyes. Finally, her own eyes adjusted, and she smiled in relief to see the shapes of over two-hundred rabbits in the same room, huddling together.

"You're all safe!" she cried happily, feeling ecstatic. But there was no response. Their eyes blinked, looked at each other, and then back at her. She felt her ears begin to droop when she saw that some only curled up against each other further in the huge living room, an obvious fear of her being shown.

Judy was horrified by this reaction, unsure of what she could possibly say. She felt like her voice had been torn from her. Her precious family all thought she was a killer, a killer who had killed their own parents.

"Why are you here?"

There was a voice from one of Judy's siblings who walked toward her. She was the third eldest of the family, being born a few minutes after Judy. She unlike Judy had brown fur, and dark hazel eyes that looked her up and down judgingly. Judy felt discomfort at her sister's slitted, angered eyes lingering on her for so long.

"Lucille. . ." Judy said uneasily as her sister got up into her face.

"Are you here to kill all of us, too?"

"I didn't kill our parents!" Judy shouted at her defensively, her fists balling. Lucille backed off a bit, glaring at Judy from the corner of her eye.

"We saw the photos. We saw what you did. How could you possibly say you're innocent with a serious face?"

"The girl is innocent."

Finnick walked up beside her. Lucille's eyes widened, and she looked back to Judy.

"Y-you brought a predator here to kill us?" she asked in shock. There was whimpers and murmurs of fright amongst their siblings, some sneaking off into other rooms to get away.

"No, I came here to make sure you guys were okay!" Judy snapped at her. "Listen to me: I did not kill mom and dad!"

"How are we supposed to trust you, Judy?" Lucille snapped back at her. "You're trying to tell me you really didn't kill mom and dad? Then why on Earth was the timing so perfect?"

"I was set up! Listen to me. I'm begging you, I-"

"Shut up!" her sister turned on her, her brown eyes showing blatant fury. "You're lying! You obviously were pissed about losing your job, and you decided to take it out on them! It was all because you were a speciesist!"

"Well, I'm not a speciesist anymore, and I would've never done that to them!" Judy yelled, growing frustrated. "You have to trust me. I'm your sister for crying out loud, don't you know I couldn't kill my own parents?"

Lucille did not respond to her. She looked away. Judy stared in desperation. "Don't you know that I could never do that to my own family? April. . . April is alive, you know."

Lucille's ears perked, and her eyes landed back on Judy.

"What did you say to me?" she asked.

"I said that April is alive." Judy said carefully. "The animal, the mastermind behind all of the predators being brainwashed, has her."

"That's not possible. . . April died years ago."

"We never knew if she did or not, but she's alive! You have only my word to believe. But please. . ."

Judy said, bowing her head. "If you really want me to leave, I will. But my friend is hurt and dying, and I can't leave without at least some medicine."

"Who else is with you?" Lucille demanded. Judy turned, and Crystal entered, dragging Nick over her shoulder. "A fox? Is that supposed to be a hostage or something?"

"He's my friend." Judy said sternly. "I know I used to hate predators. But I've changed. I've taken a lot out of this whole experience. . . the main thing being that predators aren't bad. They're good. And placing the title of predator and prey on someone means nothing."

There was silence. From beside Lucille another rabbit walked up. He was a bit younger than Judy, his fur grey like hers, and had blue eyes shielded by glasses on his face. His nose twitched, and he stepped toward her.

"You've either become an excellent liar, or you've truly changed." He said. Judy was a bit surprised when he reached forward and hugged her. She returned it, thankful that at least one of her two-hundred and seventy-five siblings was glad to see her.

"I've changed, Seth. I promise."

He stepped back, smiling at her.

"I can tell." He turned to Lucille, who looked on at him in disapproval, her arms crossed.

"She killed our-"

"We _don't_ know that for certain." He said. "Do you think Judy would be alive right now had she really been guilty of the crime? And do you think a _predator_ of all things would be helping her hide from the police?"

Lucille opened her mouth, but shut it, unable of replying.

"Well. . . I almost got electric chaired until I was saved." Judy added, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"By your predator friends, I'm assuming?"

"And April." Judy said, her tone faltering. "We almost escaped with her, but she's being held captive."

" _How_ could we possibly trust what she's saying?" Lucille asked, tearing her brother's shoulder back so they would face one another. Seth stared at her, adjusting his glasses before responding.

"Judy isn't insane, is she? If she were, we probably wouldn't be able to trust her. But she's perfectly sane."

Lucille glared back at Judy, then back at her brother.

"You can't say someone is sane just because of-"

"Have you ever seen someone who is insane before?" he challenged.

That's when it finally dawned on Judy that she did have written proof, and reached into her pocket, pulling out the small journal. Both the siblings stopped their arguing and turned their heads toward Judy's outreached paw.

"What is _that_ supposed to be?" Lucille asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Proof." Judy responded anxiously, handing it to her. Her sister looked at her, then back to the book. Seth walked up beside her, reading the pages with her. The other siblings creeped out from their huddled corners, suddenly curious of what the journal entailed.

"But why?" Lucille wondered aloud after a while. "Who would do this?" she just shook her head, in disbelief that what she was reading was true. "I mean, listen to this: _'Day 394: I never realized April had a twin until today. To be honest, it threw me off, which is why I immediately attempted to kill her in that fire. Even if it cost us the factory, that's fine. Room #628 is still safe, after all. That's all that matters. You've gotta love secret rooms! But it's a real shame she got away. I was hoping I could get her out of my way now - but that stupid fox just had to be a hero._ '"

The room became silent after they took in what the book clearly had wrote. All the siblings, young and old were all in disbelief. The younger rabbits all looked to Lucille, who had seemed to become the leader in the absence of the adults. Her eyes were closed as she slammed the book closed between her paw, tossing it back to Judy. She grabbed it, putting it back in her pocket. Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for the conviction.

"Judy. . . you really weren't lying," Lucille said, hanging her head. "I loathed you for no reason. . ." she spoke as though she were in physical pain.

"It's okay, you didn't-"

"That's no excuse. You don't know if mom and dad are alive still, do you. . ?"

Judy was taken by surprise. She hadn't thought of any possibility of her parents being alive for quite some time. She had tried to push the thought of them away to avoid her grief. She shook her head.

"I hope they are. But I have no idea. We have to get April back and end this once and for all, that's all we can do now."

Judy sighed. Finally, after what seemed to be like forever, the sea of siblings seemed to come at her like a wave. Judy let out a cry of shock as she was dragged forward, being completely surrounded by all of them. Judy could only laugh bashfully as hugs covered every part of her, and her other siblings all spoke at once, welcoming her back and seeming to cheer for her. She forgave their previous fears and anger toward her. It wasn't their fault they were under the wrong impression of her.

It was Judy's worst nightmare to die knowing her family hated her and believed she was a killer. Now, she didn't have to have that fear anymore. Finally she was released from the swarm of hugs and the voices quieted down. Lucille parted her way through the crowd, stopping a foot away from her. Judy stared for a moment before her sister dove forward, hugging her tightly. Judy blinked in shock, but returned it with relief.

Then, her heart leapt into her throat when she finally remembered Nick's condition, turning.

"Okay. . . now that all this is out of the way - I need your help."

She looked desperately at Seth. He looked behind him, and realizing she was talking to him, he pointed at himself in surprise.

"Me? For what?"

"My friend is hurt. . . and might die."

* * *

This chapter is seriously really long! You guys are so spoiled. Well, I hope this chapter makes up for not updating in a while. I was planning on updating it on Halloween but never got the chance because I was out all night haha.  
I don't think I said it before, but I actually never planned on this story to be filled with so many 'OCs'. It kinda just happened, you know? But anyways - I have so many reviews to catch up on. I want to let you all know that I've read them, and some have truly made my day so much better! It honestly makes me smile when I see people are getting into the story. Maybe it seems a bit selfish but I guess that's why I encourage people to review because seeing these amazing reviews truly motivates me and inspires me to go further and further with the story! So, I would like to thank everyone who has continued to review on this story and follow it so closely! You don't know how much it means to me.

So with that being said, please review if you desire, and thank you again for reading!


	15. Chapter 15 - Muddy Encounters

After Judy and her brother helped to get Nick up the stairs and into a clean bed, Judy could only watch  
as the other inquisitive rabbit surveyed the situation.

"It's no good."

That was definitely not something Judy had wanted to hear her brother say upon inspecting the deep bite mark imprinted into Nick's left forearm. He stared at it, an uneasy look plastered across his face. "I'm not sure what we can do."

Judy's heart dropped, feeling her ears droop in dismay at what she was hearing.

"What do you mean? You're great with this kind of thing!"

"I know, but. . ." Seth just shook his head, sighing through his nose. "It wasn't properly cleaned, so now it's infected. It will need stitches. And there's a bigger problem: the collar."

Judy's paw instinctively touched the scanner, but knew that the two were not compatible with each other. "But. . . but why would it be a problem?" she asked, feeling quite dumb.

"It's going to hurt enough to trigger enough emotion to set it off. All we'd be doing is kill Nick more. What we need is medicine, but we have none. I've had to use almost all of it on the others. There was an encounter with a predator yesterday, so all of our supplies is gone. We need something that'll numb his senses long enough to get the stitches in."

Judy felt a shiver run down her spine. The idea that she had once supported such cruelty, to keep these collars on predators and to tame their emotions, was sickening to her. She briefly remembered the information that Finnick told her about Nick's childhood. It was too mean, too tragic to think that predators had to train themselves to stop feeling emotion. She could never ever live as a predator.

Judy looked at her unconscious friend, hoping that maybe he'd wake up and start smirking at her, but he didn't. She knew very well that it was possible he could die, and that scared her. It wasn't like she could very much help, either. She couldn't take his pain away or make it disappear. It was Nick's fight.

She had honestly not thought the bite that serious, but watching that even in his sleep there was a distressed look on his face, it meant he was soon to be in a lot of trouble if he didn't get the treatment he needed.

"Where can I find medicine?" Judy asked seriously. Seth turned in surprise.

"You're going to find some? It's. . . it's dangerous."

"Yeah! He's saved my life so many times, and I'm not just going to stand here and watch his own body kill him!" Judy said determinedly. "He'd do it for me, and I've got to do it for him. Now, where do I go?"

Seth hesitated in telling her. She noticed this, and was becoming more frustrated as the seconds ticked by.

"You really have changed, haven't you?" he asks after a few moments, cracking a smile. She stayed serious despite feeling some pride at what he said. "It's dangerous out there and I don't want you to go alone. I'd come, but I can't leave him. I'll still have to do what I can for him."

"I understand. Thank you for helping him."

"There's a farm-acy south of here, the Redwood Farm-acy. You know who it's owned by."

She faintly remembered, and felt a chill run down her spine when she remembered the name.

"No, it couldn't be. . . Gideon Grey's family?" she asked, cocking her head. As a child, she couldn't stand Gideon. He always teased her and picked on her. She never had feared him until one day. . . she didn't like thinking about that day at all. She shook it from her mind, her fists clenching.

"Unfortunately." Seth said with a shrug. "But I doubt anyone would be there. Gideon's family don't run it anymore, and Gideon makes his. . . pies now, and whatever else."

"Well, I'm not going to be deterred. I have to get there before Nick's condition gets worse."

She left the room, determination burning inside of her like the sun.

Judy walked into the living room where everyone had stayed while Seth and Judy took Nick to a bed. All rabbits turned, as did the two predators. She walked into the center, feeling a bit confident about the journey ahead.

"I need someone to get medicine with me." Judy said. "Are there any volunteers? I need only one."

"I'll come." Lucille instantly answered, standing up. Judy just nodded.

"We should be back shortly. I'm sure it won't take too long."

"Nick is my best friend, I think I have to come." Finnick butted in. Judy shook her head.

"Make sure the house stays safe." she said, "We've got it covered."

Without anyone's protest, the two sisters headed out the door.

It was silence as they walked down the dirt roadway, passing by a couple of farms on the way. Both were unsure of what to say to the other.

"I shouldn't have assumed that you were the killer of our parents." Lucille finally said after what felt like forever. Judy's ears perked a little as she listened. "But. . . as a child, you were such a speciesist. . . it was disgusting to me. I didn't know how you could be so mean to the predators from the Burrows. I never wanted you to become a cop because of that cruelty that you could show children." Lucille admitted to her. Judy's ears drooped in shame. She knew that she had truly been wrong to many predators that she had encountered.

"I mean, you went to an all-prey private school."

"And you did as well." Judy said.

"No. . . I didn't."

Judy did a double-take at this response.

"Yeah, you did. You don't mean. . . you lied. . ?"

"I had to lie, Judy. I didn't want to go to an all prey school. So I went to an all species public school instead." She said, shoving her paws into her pockets. "Mom let me." Overhead, thunder roared in the distance, and the sky had darkened somewhat since they left the house. "They were terrible to the predators there."

Judy felt uneasy at where this was going. "I. . . know you hated them because of what happened to April, but I was in disbelief at how you could be so mean. And now. . . here you are, suddenly friends with predators. Who are you? Where's the Judy Hopps I remember?"

Judy just shook her head.

"She's gone now. I used to think that maybe. . . maybe all predators were bad, but. . . they aren't. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to. . . figure that out for myself."

Lucille put a paw on Judy's shoulder, looking at her seriously.

"I'm glad that you know now at least." She smiled. Judy smiled back.

They approached the farm-acy, walking up to the front door.

"I'll look in that side, you look over in that side?" Judy asked as they walked into the first room, surveying the different paths they could take. Lucille nodded, and the two were about to split.

"Wait!" Judy called. Lucille froze, turning. "Take this. You might need it." Judy handed her the collar scanner. Lucille looked down at it fondly, throwing it up in the air and back into her paw a few times.

"Thanks." She said, and then headed off again. The elder sister looked at it longingly for a moment, somewhat regretting having no protection now, but quickly shook it off. Judy headed into the opposite direction.

The farm-acy was huge, and it all needed to be explored. She knew exactly where she had to go.

She entered a back room named the 'check up room' and walked inside. It was dark, but she was able to make out the shape of a sink with a cabinet above it. There was other cabinets filled with various medicines that she didn't know the names of. She looked at all of it, not seeing anything that she would need. Lucille was on her own medicine raid right now, and probably would've enjoyed snatching all the medicine from this room.

She found a few bottles of Tigerlynol, which would come in handy. She shoved them into her pockets, carrying on. The only option now was the cabinet above the sink.

Judy got up onto the stool, jumping up onto the sink and reaching into the medicine cabinet. She opened it, her violet eyes searching desperately for the medicine she needed. It felt like it was the apocalypse, where if she couldn't find what she needed, Nick would definitely die. This medicine shouldn't be life or death, it should be an easy trip to the hospital to get this situation resolved. She frowned, looking at the different names of the medicine, but nothing popped out to her until she saw a small, white bottle filled with silvery liqid. Mepiva-canine was what it read on the box.

"Bingo!" she grinned to no one, picking up the precious cargo and inserting it into her pocket. It was a good thing that she'd brought Lucille with her. She would also be collecting lots of medicine on the trip.

That's when Judy felt a sudden fear out of nowhere, like her instincts had kicked in. There was a growling from behind her. She was still standing on the sink, and she slowly turned around, seeing in the darkness two glowing eyes that were staring at her with bitter hatred filled within them. Judy felt a chill make her shake. She could not make out the shape of the predator in the room until from outside, a crash of lightning flashed, lighting up the room. Judy's eyes widened, and her pupils shrank when she saw that it was none other than Gideon Grey standing there on all fours, looking up at her and snarling.

What? He shouldn't even be here! Why is he here? Why does this always happen to me?

She felt her breath catch in her throat as the stare off continued. There was much uncertainty in her mind on what she should do, and she had few options. Lucille was not in the same section of the farm-acy as her, and therefore, meant she was practically alone. She knew that her time was oozing away from her as she hesitated.

Maybe she could out-fox this brainwashed fox. In one leap, she dashed across the room, hearing Gideon growl and scamper after her. Don't look back, just don't look back. . . she begged herself, her paws tightly balled against her chest as she plowed through one of the doors, bursting into the main room of the farm-acy.

" _Lucille!_ " she yelled, looking around the room frantically. There were only cabinets filled with bottles and medicine surrounding her. Another flash of lightning struck the ground, lighting up the room once more with its strong radiance. She turned, seeing Gideon, drool spilling from the side of his mouth, his eyes clouded over and burning with ferocity.

Judy had regret giving Lucille the collar scanner the second she decided to. She needed it now, and she bet her sister wouldn't even end up using it. Judy slowly backed away and eventually turned, running out of the farm-acy.

Rain poured down on her, drenching her within a few moments as she ran across the muddy ground, and she looked back, seeing Gideon still in pursuit. The pie-maker would not be deterred in hunting down and, most likely, killing Judy. She just frowned, determination flowing through her. She just had to get the medicine back to Nick, and then they could fix this entire mess. And Lucille would eventually realize she was missing and come scan Gideon's collar. . . right?

The rabbit ran circles, yelling out to the farm-acy desperately for any sign of a response. Where on Earth was that rabbit? Why had she told Finnick that they didn't need help? Why was she in this situation right now?

Mud splattered all across her clothes by now, and her bones were chilled by the cold water that seeped through her fur. She still ran in circles foolishly, and figured she could keep it going until Lucille finally caught up with her.

Well, Judy had figured.

Her foot sank into a pool of mud, tripping her up. She regained her balance, gasping in shock as she turned half-way, seeing Gideon pouncing at her, paws outstretched and jaws wide.

The fox slammed into her, the force being so hard they both flew across the ground. Mud was driven into Judy's clothes and her back finally hit the ground a few seconds later as they came to a halt. She was half sunk into the liquidy ground, half of her being brown and half of her being grey. There was no way she could find grip to escape in such mucky conditions. There was no solid ground for to get at.

Judy's violet eyes were wide, and once again lightning crackled, and thunder shrieked, as though it had expected this outcome all along.

"Oh, come on!" Judy yelled at him, biting onto her lip in frustration. She stared at the brainwashed fox and looked for any signs of him getting off of her, but his growl only became louder, and he shoved her deeper into the mud with one paw. It felt like it had been forever since Gideon had laid his paws on her. Her terror was spilling out of her, threatening to consume her sanity as the seconds ticked by of the waiting game.

Judy's mind took her somewhere else.

 _It was like any other day in the Burrows. Judy was playing with her friends until she saw that despicable fox coming into view. A solemn look was on his face as made his way toward her. It was as though all the friendliness between the group of prey had been washed away and was replaced by hatred._

 _"What do you want, Gideon?" young Judy asked, frowning. Her friends creeped a little further away from him and moved toward her, all keeping their eyes on the fox. He'd come alone this time, he never came alone. Something about it felt fishy._

 _"I came to make my peace, Judy." The fox said, holding his paws behind his back. The rabbit's nose twitched a moment, and she looked him up and down. She immediately burst out into laughter._

 _"You? Make peace? With us? What're you, kidding me? Get lost!"_

 _"I'm being serious, rabbit!" Gideon snapped at her, quickly becoming frustrated. Her eyes narrowed._

 _"Ooh, is it 'cause you got that collar now? Happy nineth birthday, by the way. You wanna play nice now 'cause you can't bully us freely anymore?" she teased cruelly. The other prey just laughed in agreement. He instantly looked down at it, and then straightened back up._

 _"Shut up! I. . . I was wrong," he said, not wanting to. He was obviously lying, but lying for the sake of saving himself the hurt of getting electrocuted later. Judy just rolled her eyes at his stupidity._

 _"Right, and I'm gonna be sent to the electric chair! Two things that'll never happen, Gideon, is that you'll admit you're wrong, and I'll never be sent to the electric chair."_

 _"That's a kind of morbid comparison-"_

 _"Be quiet!" Judy hissed at her friend. She looked back at Gideon, grinning in satisfaction to see the light on his collar growing darker. "You really thought, Gideon Grey, that you could bully us without any problems later? Now that you've got your big boy collar, you gotta listen to us! And I say that none of us forgive you!" she snapped at him._

 _"I don't want to be enemies with you!" Gideon pleaded. "Not many o' us predators live in the Burrows, and I don't want to be another one who's isolated from the friendship of prey."_

 _Judy slowly walked up to Gideon._

 _She grinned a little, and shoved him back._

 _"Guess you're gonna be isolated then, huh? How did it feel to come and humiliate your pride by telling a sob story to us?"_

 _Gideon opened his mouth to object, but he closed it, thinking better of it. Her grin only got wider."Look at you! You're even afraid to say one thing back to me! This is amazing, you really can't bully us at all!" she laughed, hugging herself._

 _"I told you. . . to shut. . . up. . ."_

 _"Just go, Gideon. None of us will ever like you, and you'll never be welcome here after the past years of terror. It must be nice to be a young predator with no collar on. I'm sure you must miss it."_

 _"I said, shut up!"_

 _Once was a proposal of peace quickly turned into hostility._

 _In one strong swipe, Gideon's claws found themselves in Judy's cheek. The force was so strong that it knocked her backwards, and she cried out in shock, as did Gideon in retaliation to the trigger of his collar._

Judy snapped back into reality when she felt her cheek sting in shock. She looked up, seeing blood splatter across the mud beside her. Her cheek welled with the crimson liquid, and she realized that he'd clawed her face.

Her mouth was in the shape of an 'o', the horrible reality of what she was like as a child haunting her. She remembered the ending of that sequence vividly. He'd been knocked out cold from the shock, and they'd all thought he might've died until he woke up and left as though it'd never happened. They never encountered Gideon one on one ever again. Until right now.

"I guess it would be justified for you to kill me. I was such a. . . such a. . ." she trailed off, not wanting to think about it. Finally, Gideon had had enough of teasing his prey. He leaned down, his lips drawn back into a snarl. Judy prepared herself, shaking. Her eyes closed as his jaws opened, and he dove for Judy's throat.

A scream could be heard, but not from her. She felt breath hit her throat instead of sharp teeth.

Everything seemed to pause, and she glanced, seeing a familiar, chestnut paw holding out the collar scanner. Judy stared in shock to see Lucille there, deactivating Gideon's collar. It beeped, and then it fell off into the mud beside Judy.

Gideon's eyes blinked, and then he shook his head, pulling away from her. She could hardly believe it. Judy let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Gideon shook his head, then looked at her in surprise.

" _Judy Hopps_?" he asked. She slowly nodded. He got off of her, offering a paw to help her up. She gladly accepted, ecstatic to be out of that cold mud, but even more ecstatic to still be alive. Lucille hadn't moved since her last-second save. She ran to Judy's side, swinging her arms around her. Judy shivered into her. All the while, Gideon Grey was still confused about the whole situation.

"You got the medicine?" Lucille asked.

"I-I got it," Judy stammered, still recovering from the fear that had overtook her, brushing off some chunks of mud from her jeans.

"Can I ask. . . what in tarnation's even goin' on?" Gideon narrowed his eyes at the two rabbits. She knew he hated her; it had been a mutual thing until she realized how awful she had been to him.

So again, the story was reiterated by Lucille, who informed Gideon of Trine's plan scheme. Judy pawed at her cheek, feeling the blood caked over her fur. It triggered her deepest childhood memories, which she pushed away. Judy didn't want to be known as the cruel rabbit who hated predators anymore. She wanted to be known as the rabbit who became the first rabbit cop, saved the world from Trine alongside her friends and did what might've been impossible for her to do before - fall in love with a predator.

She straightened a bit, feeling conscious about thinking about it. It was strange to her that she had been, even in the moments before death, more concerned about Nick. The scene from two days ago played out in her mind, sitting there and waiting to be met with the most ironic death she could've received - being electrocuted to death.

She was worried about him just as much as she had worried for herself that day. Judy didn't really know what 'falling in love' was, the concept was much foreign to her. She'd never fallen in love with anyone before or even crushed on anyone else - she had focused so much on becoming a cop she had little time to mess around with things such as love.

And now she knew what it felt like to care for someone so much. She'd seen it so many times in movies, how love 'worked' but she'd never realized how it worked until about a week ago.

Judy was lost in thought, not even realizing she'd begun to blush just at the thought of how much she enjoyed Nick's presence, but it was much more than that.

Nick had shown her how good predators really were. Nick had shown her that not every single predator was out there, trying to kill her or kidnap her. He'd shown her the truth that she had sheltered herself from. She could never repay him for opening up her eyes.

She was broken out of thought as they approached the door. Judy was ice cold still, and her fur was caked with mud.

"What _happened_ out there? You go jumpin' in mud puddles or somethin'?"

Finnick immediately asked, squinting at her.

"Something like that," she muttered, walking past him. She looked back, noticing Gideon stand in the doorway, his face revealing he was unsure of whether or not he really should go inside of the house. Judy could not speak to him, she shouldn't speak to him. She wanted to, she wanted to apologize but she just didn't know how. She decided that staying silent was wise, and so that's what she did.

"And I guess _you're_ just gonna stand in the doorway til this whole livin' room gets _soaked_ in water?" Finnick asked him, breaking the awkward silence. Gideon seemed to realize this, and muttered something about the rain under his breath before closing the door.

Judy finally realized that she had the medicine she needed, and bolted up the stairs, leaving all of them alone downstairs.

She made her way into the bedroom, halting a few feet from the bed. Seth was gone, but Nick was actually awake. His half-lidded eyes shot open, and he looked her up and down in surprise.

"Carrots, what happened to you?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"I had a run-in with some mud," she shrugged casually, "and uh. . . rain." He just frowned at her sarcastic response. He winced a little when he tried to move his arm. "Would you not move for just two seconds?" Judy instantly scolded him.

"Maybe you could stop treating me like I'm some fragile old lady first," Nick retorted, not amused.

"Excuse me?" Judy demanded. "You are fragile!" she pointed out. He just rolled his eyes.

" _Suuure_ , whatever you say. See? I can move it just _fi-_ " He went to stretch it, proving her wrong, but it barked at him in a prickling pain. He flinched at how bad it truly hurt, and put it down, defeated. "I guess you're right for once, Fluff." Nick sighed. "So, I guess you could say I'm in a jam?" he asked.

"No, I got you medicine, dummy." She said, pulling the capsule out of her pocket. He eyed it hungrily.

"Finally! This torture can end!" he said, relieved. "I mean. . . it didn't really ever hurt that much, but whatever."

Judy just laughed a little, shaking her head. Nick cracked a small smile before turning serious. He reached up, rubbing one opposable thumb over Judy's cheek. She retaliated a little by pulling away, pawing her raw skin.

"What. . . what really happened out there?" he asked, immediately sounding concerned.

"Well. . . I told you I had a run-in with mud, but also. . . another fox," she shrugged. "It was no biggie." She lied, trying to push down the memory of pure terror.

"What sane fox would live in this town filled with a bunch of prey? Who? Let me talk to this guy and I'll teach him to not put his paws on my dumb bunny-"

"Nick, he. . . Gideon, didn't know what he was doing!" she said sheepishly.

"Judy, I don't really care. You think I care if that possum was in her right mind or not? I've still got a bone to pick with her after she screwed me up so bad. . . even if she apologized and I can't really say anything anymore." He thought over it a moment. "Seriously Judy, I'd like to speak with the guy who did this to you. . . if he's here."

She was about to respond when a cough disrupted the conversation. Both of their heads turned to the doorway where Seth had returned, a needle and thread in paw and behind him, Gideon.

"I uh. . . brought him up here so he could explain how to apply the medication." he quickly spoke up. Nick frowned and the two foxes made eye contact. Judy felt the thickest tension fill the room, so thick that she might've been able to suffocate on it, and she decided to leave.

"Well, I'm gonna go wash this mud off me. . ." she said awkwardly, power-walking to the door and disappearing, practically slamming it behind her.

Nick thanked his mother for teaching him how to keep his cool in that moment. There was something about this fox that lead him to believe he wasn't such a bad guy, but what kind of guy would touch a girl? Nick was aware of the brainwashing the collars were capable of, but that didn't matter much to him.

He realized that Seth was already in the process of preparing the medicine. Nick didn't listen as Gideon explained to Seth how to numb the bite. Him and the mysterious new guest had a chance to get to know one another, he supposed.

"So. . . are you and Judy are friends?" Nick asked, already smirking. The other fox stared at him, not at all amused.

"Naw, we ain't seen each other since we was just lil' kids." He responded, sounding a bit disgusted.

"Well Gideon, I'm sure that your parents didn't teach you to put your hands on a girl. _Did_ they?" Nick asked, his eyes narrowing as he got straight to the point he was about to make. Gideon only squinted at him.

"Firstly, I couldn't help that. Second, when it came to prey like Judy, it certainly was approved of and looked at as an act 'o defense in my house."

Seth, who had been injecting some medicine into Nick's arm, froze at this comment. Nick he raised an eyebrow at Gideon's retort uneasily.

"I guess you and Judy didn't quite get along, then."

"No, I hated her guts."

"Why?"

"She's a speciesist, that's why," Gideon snapped, "which is why I'm just a _lil'_ concerned at you defendin' her."

"Well, sir, animals tend to change and don't stay the same way forever. The reason that Judy was so rudely attacked by you because she was out trying to help me. Prior to what you believed, which was probably along the lines of 'Judy killed her parents and hates predators,' is not true. And she certainly does not hate predators anymore because otherwise, I would not be sitting here. I'd probably be out there brainwashed like the rest of them."

Gideon looked away with a grunt. Nick was satisfied that he'd shut him up. He eventually sighed, balling his fists.

"She didn't kill her parents?" Gideon asked. Nick shook his head. "If you're a fox, vouchin' for a prey. . . I've gotta believe you. When I heard the news, I was horrified. Even if Judy 'n I hated one another, her parents were still good to my family 'n me."

Nick was a bit surprised to hear that. He knew that Judy's hatred for predators originated in The kidnapping of her twin, but he had half-expected there to be some kind of influence from her parents. Nick was an only child, so he didn't really know what it felt like to lose a sibling, but clearly it had impacted Judy further than he'd originally imagined.

"All done!"

Nick snapped out of thought when he heard the grey rabbit beside him put down his needle and thread. He picked up some bandages to cover the now closed wound. Nick blinked in shock.

" _Wow_. I almost forgot what my arm looked like when it didn't have a gigantic possum bite in it." he said.

"We can take the stitches out in a few days."

Seth responded, finishing the bandage off. Nick sighed, relieved that the whole situation was over.

"Man. . . now I'm starving." He muttered.

"Oh, maybe Gideon could make some pies. I heard that they're pretty good." Seth said. Gideon was staring out the window, but flicked one ear in acknowledgement to the statement. Nick sat up, immediately interested.

"Wait. . . _blueberry_ pies?" he asked almost desperately. It felt like forever since he'd eaten anything that had blueberries in it. Gideon was fully turned around now.

"What kinda pie maker _doesn't know_ how to make blueberry pie?" he sounded almost offended. Nick clasped his paws together, grinning.

"Would you make some?" he requested pleadingly.

"Sure." Gideon shrugged.

"Maybe you and I _will_ get along after all," Nick said, smirking.

* * *

Hey! Sorry that it's been forever... school has seriously been killer. Don't ask why senior year has been so rough, I don't know either. I've been thinking about this chapter for a long time, and now that it's actually done I'm a little sad. I found it a bit entertaining to write Judy in such a mean-spirited light; I'll probably be doing it more in the future (no spoilers intended heh). Also, I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great! I had a pretty nice time myself.

 _Reviews;_

 **Guest:** I know right? I'm so mean to these characters, lol.

 **Lone Wonderer 1:** Thank you so much! I hope you had a great day as well, and I'm glad you are enjoying the story! :)


	16. Chapter 16 - Guilt

"This might just be the comfiest chair I've ever sat on."

Nick said in satisfaction, sinking into the puffy one-seater. Judy just shook her head at him.

"You know, that's my grandpa's favorite chair."

"Oh? I'm still going to sit in it," Nick flashed a smirk.

"Grandpa _hates_ foxes." Judy pointed out flatly. "He says that foxes are red because they were made by the devil," she found herself giving a dumb smirk back, "I'm pretty sure that chair is cursed with fox hatred by now. Is it _still_ comfy?"

Nick's face was strewn into a mixture of a frown and a bit of disturbance. After a moment, it melted away into a shrug.

"Still as comfy as ever. Where are your grandparents, anyway?"

"My sister said they had left to make preparations for the funeral in Tundratown. You know. . . the one for my parents."

Nick nodded.

It had been a few days since the rainstorm, and the encounter with Gideon. Judy and him hadn't talked since, creating a thick tension in the house could be seen by almost everyone else. Judy wanted to be up and out of the house as soon as Nick was fully recovered, because she truly did not want to spend a second more in the same place as Gideon for numerous reasons.

She in no way hated Gideon, but they both had a history of bullying and despising one another as children. And it was obvious he did still hold Judy to that history, especially after thinking she'd killed her own parents. Judy felt an incredible frustration at this, as she wanted to prove her innocence to everyone still. However, there was a far bigger reason he hated Judy that she didn't want to think about. But now, there was an even greater responsibility to think about: saving the world.

"So are you gonna just stand there, or are you gonna get me that last slice of pie out of the fridge?"

"Do I look like I'm your servant? You're practically almost healed, get it yourself."

"Not til the stitches are out, Carrots."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at him sarcastically, slipping into the other room.

There were rabbits literally everywhere over the house. Judy tread carefully past some of them, which were busy running rampant around the house. It must've been nice to still be a little kid and not have the pressure of the world's weight on your shoulders.

She quickly reached into the fridge to retrieve the blueberry pie. Judy was entirely convinced that the only way that Nick and Gideon were getting along were by bonding over blueberries.

By the time she had returned, she stopped in her tracks uncomfortably to see that Nick and Gideon were engaged in another one of their conversations. But Judy was pretty okay with it. She'd never seen Gideon so happy before. Maybe it was because he could relate to being the 'outcast'.

She felt her eye twitch a little as those awful childhood memories crept back up on her. There was one time, she remembered it the most clearly, and it was what made her truly despise him as a child, but also made him despise her even more.

 _"Oh, your sister. . . is gone? That's a mighty shame, ain't it? I'll bet it was all your fault, too. Even though you blamed someone else."_

 _"That's not true!" Judy insisted shakily as Gideon walked up to her, grinning. Those white, sharp teeth intimidated her. Normally she wasn't alone like this, but she'd gone off alone stupidly. She had been more distant and isolated since her sister's disappearance, and it was an inconveinence that now, of all times, Gideon decided to show up._

 _"You sure? You claim that the fox that stole your sister manipulated you but. . . did she really? Maybe you wanted your sister to disappear! Being a twin must be rough, always bein' shadowed in the other's spotlight."_

 _"Why are you doing this?" Judy demanded, her eyes wide. The fact that he wore no collar was even scarier to her. He could do anything to her, and she'd be able to do nothing about it. . ._

 _"Because I bet it wasn't even a fox! You just hate us so much that you dumb rabbits gotta make our species look more bad than it already looks!"_

 _"It_ was _a fox!" she snapped at him, pushing him back. "I wouldn't lie about that! What if it was your sibling? Your best friend? Would_ you _lie?"_

 _"Nah. . . but_ you _would," he glared at her, a look of hatred in his eyes. "Because you're nothin' but a dumb farm bunny! Because'a you and your fake 'fox kidnapping' story, my family 'n I can't even go out in public nowadays without getting looks!"_

 _Judy was left speechless. A few moments later, she found her voice again._

 _"I'm sorry. But it's the truth."_

 _"It ain't nothin' but a lie. I hope they_ never _find her at this rate!"_

 _That, was the end of the line for Judy. She felt something inside of her snap, and she felt a hole of fury open up inside of her. She ran at him, slamming him backwards and knocking him to the ground._

 _"You're heartless! How could someone as stupid as you and mean as you possibly say something like that?" she demanded in shock. "You. . . you're just no good! When you get your collar, I hope it electrocutes you so hard that you can't move ever again!" she yelled at him, her fists balled._

 _After that, Gideon stood, a clear rage visible on his face. She stared back, infuriated. His lips were drawn back, revealing those sharp teeth again. Judy stood her ground, feeling terrified, but the adrenaline from her anger kept her going strong._

 _In those next few minutes, the predator and prey engaged in a nasty fight. Maybe if it hadn't been for Judy's friends who found them fighting, they would've kept going forever. After the act of violence was reported, despite Judy being the one to initiate it, Gideon's collar scheduling was moved up because of his actions, and something more terrible happened as well._

Judy snapped out of it a moment later as she heard a small thud and looked down, seeing that the slice of pie had slid off of the dish she'd been holding.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, slowly shaking her head and backing away. There was an intense kind of guilt she still had inside of her from that day. Maybe if she had just shut up and let him speak and ignore him, he wouldn't have gotten his family in trouble. . .

There was a prime punishment for predator children run rampant in the streets hurting prey or other predators whenever they wanted. She'd studied it many a time in school and police school. It was something every predator knew about, and something every predator was terrified of happening.

It was called _PDT_ : _Parent Disappearance Therapy_. It was a scarring punishment for the parent and child alike, something that was feared for a reason. Quite literally, the predator who offended this law would have their parents and siblings taken away. No, they wouldn't be killed or jailed or something awful as that, they just simply would never see their parents again.

It was extremely literal, and it was extremely frightening for any young predator to think about. The parents would be moved as far away as possible from the child's location and home, and the parents would be banished from meeting their child again. More often than not, the predator child would have to go into an adoption or care center because of it. If they met in public, they could not interact with each other because charges would be held against them.

That was what happened to Gideon. Judy cringed thinking about it, eventually dropping the plate from her hand and swiftly turning to leave the room. She couldn't even imagine how long it had been. How many years had it been since Gideon had seen his parents? Well, lucky for him, his aunt and uncle had been there to take care of him. But other predators were not so lucky.

Judy burst out of the front door, feeling as though she might suffocate if she stayed in that house any longer. Her lungs were burning, and her heart was filled with pain. She had framed Gideon, even though in his case it had been self-defense. . . at least that's what she led herself to believe. She'd gotten away with a broken arm and some other scratches. There was no forgiveness for such an action that Judy had done when she was a stupid, naive child. Certainly what he did was bad, but she did the ultimate wrong doing.

She sat on the stairs to the porch, looking out at the open fields in front of her. She'd hated Gideon, and at one point, thought he deserved it, even. He hade been cruel toward her, but she'd taken it too far. She felt like she had no justification for it.

Judy straightened a little when she heard someone sitting next to her. She sighed at the familiar glow of red from beside her.

"Look Nick, I don't really want to talk about it, alright? I'd rather be alone right-"

She turned in shock to see it wasn't Nick but Gideon sitting a few feet away from her. She looked away, trying to compose herself. Judy couldn't get out of this one, could she? She really wanted to run, because she hadn't wanted this day to come: the day where they talked about what had happened.

"Nick said it would be a good idea to get address the elephant in the room already."

She looked back, seeing Nick peeking through the window. He flashed a thumbs up, then disappeared in the blinds when she spotted him. Judy sighed. This was a fifteen-year burden she was carrying on her shoulders that she had not recognized she was carrying up until a little while back.

"Listen, Gideon. . . I know it's unforgivable, what I did. I mean, I didn't even _know_ about it back then! I didn't know that they would take your parents away. . ." Judy trailed off almost painfully.

"Maybe after everything goes back to normal, I can see 'em again. I mean, I don't even know if they're alive or not. For all I know, they could'a died years ago. Who knows? But all I'll say is that I don't need to be here, and that I'll go back soon. I could go back home right now, I just wanna see that Nick gets along okay first. Maybe you could deal with it, as much as you hate me." Judy hesitated. She flinched a little as he spoke again in a loud, annoyed tone, " _What_? What're you gonna say, _huh_?"

"I don't hate you. . ." she muttered.

" _What_ did you say?" he demanded, almost sounding surprised.

" _I said that I don't hate you_!" she turned, "I didn't know that they'd take your parents! I lost too, Gideon! I lost my _sister_ , I lost my _parents_ , _all_ of Zootopia practically hates me and right now other animals I care about are in danger! I. . . _don't_ want to lose anyone else! Even if we hate each other, we're all that we've got right now! Don't you get it? All those animals out there are against us! They don't care if you're prey or predator! It's all of us, the few of _us_ , against millions of _them_!"

She stared, wide-eyed, searching desperately for a sign of understanding or maybe even some kindness. That would never come, she supposed, when Gideon glared at her, a look of hatred that left her taken aback.

"You don't know what losin' really feels like 'til you've gotta deal with being _parentless_ all of your life!" he snapped at her.

"I told you that I didn't know about it! I would have never done that to someone! Ever!"

"Oh yeah, preach it to me a l'il more, Judy, I'm listenin' real good! You think I believe that? What happened to that cop side of yours that was gonna keep Zootopia safe from all of the _evil_ , _bad_ predators which threatened to hurt you?'

"I'm different now!" Judy stood up, standing toward him. "And. . . I honestly wish that things could be different between us. And I. . . I have something selfish to ask you. But it's not for the sake of me, it's for the sake of my family."

Gideon's ears flicked, letting her know he was listening.

"My family here. . . they're in danger if I leave them behind. I'll be worried. But you, I know you can protect them. Will you do that, for them?" Judy asked desperately. "And I. . . I also appreciate you helping Nick. He means a lot to me. And I think him talking to someone of his own species has brought his spirits up a little more."

Gideon stood too, turning away.

"I'll stay here. To make sure they're fine." Gideon said a little too bitterly. "Just know that I'm _not_ doing this for you."

"Thank you." She said genuinely as he began to head back for the house. "And Gideon. I'm sorry. I wasn't a good child, I know that now. And I was. . . I wasn't kind to you or the other predators around here. And for that, I'm sorry. I was ignorant. And it's unforgivable, but. . . I just wanted you to know that I regret it now."

He didn't respond as he went back inside, leaving Judy alone. She hung her head. There would probably be no resolution between them. It left Judy feeling a little numb to know she'd destroyed someone's family like that.

In the moment, she vowed that she would help him to get contact with his parents back.

Judy looked up when she saw Nick walking out, looking a bit grim instead of his normal smirking self.

"I know what happened. . . the _PDT_ , I mean." Nick said, looking at her uneasily.

"You must think I'm so lowly," she looked away in shame.

"You were a kid. He was a kid. You didn't know, and he did. He provoked you to start the fight first. Don't blame it all entirely on yourself."

"You really. . . _are_ being serious right now?" she asked bewilderedly.

"Uh, obviously," he sighed, "I mean, was it messed up? Sure. But it wasn't really your fault. I mean, if someone came up to me and started laughing about how my mother was gone, I think I would fight them too."

She looked at him, smiling a little. She sighed, looking out again to the field.

"I'm glad that you think that, but. . . he'll never think of it that way. I thought that you would think I'm disgusting for it. But you actually understood?" Judy glanced uncertainly.

"Well Carrots, it was gonna happen eventually. You were the one to light the fuse, unfortunately."

Judy thought about that for a moment as the wind tussled through her fur. The chilly autumn air slowly cleared her mind, and she sighed.

"I guess you're right, Nick. But even after it happened, none of us found out for months. We found out through a mutual friend of his. I mean, it was so shocking. And he kept it from us so we wouldn't make fun of him for it." Judy sighed. "But enough about this. What are we going to do about Zootopia, Nick?"

"Well, we _were_ doing pretty well by navigating through Zootopia before my arm almost got chopped in half." Nick shrugged. "I don't know what we're going to do next, but we have to do something soon. There's a bunch of crazy predators out there who might be hurting prey as we speak."

"Look at that." Judy smiled at him, putting her paws on her hips. "You, Nick Wilde, caring about the sake of other prey?"

"Well. . . not all of them are bad, right?" he asked out loud, as if he was really just asking himself.

"Just like not all predators are bad." Judy agreed with him. He smiled back for a moment before returning to his previous serious posture.

"We have to plan our next move. We should be out of here by tomorrow once these stitches are out. Let's start discussing it now." He said, opening the front door. She nodded, watching him go inside. She looked back out momentarily to the seemingly endless fields of corn and carrots. There was something she had wanted to tell Nick for a very long time. It had nothing to do with how she felt about him. But it was something she felt like she should tell him.

She felt like if she told him, he would hate her. Well. . . he hadn't hated her after hearing about what happened to Gideon's parents. Still, she felt like if she told her own family they would hate her. But she couldn't live with the burden of the secret alone. She had to get it off her chest finally and. . . _tell someone_.

" _Fluff_! Come on!"

"Don't call me that!" Judy instantly retaliated. He grinned a bit at her response, and then she headed inside after him.

* * *

Everything about this situation reminded April of the bad days in the past. It would just be her and Trine sometimes in the lab for hours. April hated those days more than any of the others in her life. Right now, she hated what was going on right now so much more. And it was all of her fault.

She wondered if Judy and Nick were okay. She knew they had trouble getting out, and she had quite frankly hoped more than anything that they had gotten away. There was a sort of frustration one feels when she was so close to freedom. When the feeling of being able to walk outside and be with your family again is so close it's almost so overwhelming it drowns her in desperation to get away from the monster who's kept her hidden away for so many years.

April didn't know how many days it had been since Trine locked her away again. It felt like months had gone by. This time though they were back at the factory where everything started. She was alone in a small, dark room, which was charred and crisp from the previous fire that had nearly killed Nick and Judy, according to what the fox had told her in such a short amount of time.

April knew where Trine was, though. Room #628, where all of the terrible things happened. Mr. Zeel worked in that room as well as his house to build the monsterous contraption which would help to brainwash all of the predators. It was where Trine started to take her father's work seriously. And when he died, she put herself into her work entirely. She wouldn't even sleep sometimes. And she couldn't stand April.

But April couldn't take being locked up alone in a dark room with one light source, the charred up window, much longer. Outside there were predators running around. Sometimes the growling was so loud, April was convinced they were inside the room with her. But she couldn't get to the window to see if they were outside or close by anyways, since she'd been shackled.

She was sitting against the wall, trying to not lose her small bit of sanity that remained. She had faith in her sister. There would be someone coming to get her. Finally she'd taste freedom and be with her family again.

Her ears could pick up the sound of someone walking to the room - she already knew who it was. She felt uncomfortable, but looked up when Trine descended the staircase, coming into view.

"How's it going?" she heard the casual question. In the darkness, Trine's eyes stared her down, making her feel small. April didn't answer. She didn't care about the consequences at this point. Trine had already tortured her, nearly killed her so many times. Whether it was by beating or blood loss, it was always something with her.

There was a clatter of a plate and April turned her head slightly to see that Trine had brought her some food and water as she sat it down next to her.

"Soon you won't have to be locked in here. Once those foolish animals come back and I have them under my control, you and I can finally be free. Together."

"What are you talking about?" April asked weakly.

"I'll have completed Father's vision. I won't have to work anymore. And more importantly, I won't have to hurt you anymore. It can be just like the good old days, except we'll be on top of the world and have everything in our reach."

April gritted her teeth at this.

"You think it's so simple to go back to 'the good old days' don't you?"

"Why can't we?" Trine asked, coming closer, standing over her. She was so massive next to April that it was actually quite intimidating for the rabbit.

"The answer really isn't clear? You've got me locked up, you've had me locked up for years, and all you've been using me for is blood. Now it's all _my fault_ that everyone out there is crazy in the head!" April finally burst out. Trine could clearly see her distress just as anyone would've. The damage had been done, that much was clear.

"Listen to me, April. I did this for your own good and my own good. Now, we have all of Zootopia to ourselves!"

" _No_!" April cried, glaring at her. " _I never wanted this_! I just wanted to go home! To be with my family again."

"You're with your family right now." Trine said warningly.

"No, you're _not_ my family!"

"April."

" _Shut up!_ " she screamed in utter frustration. "You'll _never_ be my family! You've just used me and hurt me!"

"That's not true."

"It is, though! I just want to go home!" April said, pressing further back into the wall. "Now since you've got your way you suddenly want to be my friend again?"

Trine just shook her head, going to reach out to the small rabbit who only pressed further back. Her huge eyes would not leave Trine's, and the two stared at each other in the darkness.

"You've always been my friend," Trine tried to reason desperately as she crouched down to the rabbit's level, but April only retaliated more.

"You stopped being my friend the day you started to use me to create this huge mess!" April shouted at her. The zebra, for once, felt extremely powerless.

"I didn't mean to, April, I. . ."

" _Didn't mean to_?" April repeated bewilderedly, a look of anger shining in her eyes. "You tried to kill my sister, you killed my parents to get your revenge on me, and you've nearly killed me. I bet you didn't mean to do any of that, though."

Trine stood, starting to walk away. April watched her closely. It was unlike her, to just get up and walk away. April had expected to be punched for sure. She'd never given so much attitude to Trine like that in an extremely long time. As she stood by the bottom of the stairs, she looked back to her old best friend.

"I didn't kill your parents."

April's eyes widened, and her heart flew into her throat, beginning to beat rapidly.

" _What_?" she asked, entirely shocked. "Y-you told me you did it!"

"They're fine," Trine glared at her.

"But the pictures. . . you showed me them yourself!"

"Yes, I showed them to all of Zootopia. They were convincing enough, but they were merely unconscious. You animals are all so gullible. It's amazing what some bruises, cuts and a little blood can do. _Wonders_ , apparently."

April couldn't help but break a smile, the tension in her muscles releasing, allowing her to falter back into the wall.

"Don't tell me you're lying," April begged. Trine shook her head.

"I couldn't do that to you."

The grey rabbit was entirely stunned by those words. Trine was a monster in her eyes, but maybe there was still some good in her.

"Even if I got your father killed? Why did you lie to me?" she asked, staring at Trine. There was no response. The zebra disappeared up the stairs, leaving April alone. There was a thrill that came alive inside of her. She had to find her parents and escape. Judy had to know! All of them did!

She remembered when she was first told. That had nearly destroyed her. She barely knew her parents, but she still cared about them. And to know they were alive still made her the happiest. And the fact that they might find out the truth about April's disappearance. . . a flame of hope lit up the dark inside of her.

In no way could she ever forgive the evil crimes that Trine had commit against her. There was no possible way. But she could be thankful to her for sparing her parents.

April had a feeling that things could possibly turn out good again.

That was until the door slammed back open, making her nearly leap out of her skin. Trine wordlessly walked over to her, grasping her arm firmly.

"W-what're you doing?" April asked in shock.

"Everything is falling apart! Some of the collars are malfunctioning. Happy you know now?" Trine snapped at her. The rabbit felt fear creep back into her as her shackles were taken off. She tried to squirm away, but the grip was tight. Trine walked up the charred stairs, and April's heart skipped a beat in horror. She knew what Trine was planning on doing, she was planning on drawing blood for what felt like the millionth time, and April wouldn't allow that to happen again!

" _Let go of me_!" April yelled, still squirming in her grasp.

"Think of this as a payment back to me." Trine said. "For letting your parents off the hook. I need your blood one last time. To ensure that everything goes according to plan and stays that way!"

April looked around the dark factory. Light was shining through some of the broken, dirty windows. Massive machines, which used to make collars, were on either side of them. All of them broken. It must've been millions to cover the loss of those machines. It was a reminder just how crazy Trine was, how she had planned the whole scheme of lighting the factory on fire and risking everyone's lives for no reason in the heat of the moment.

"When I first saw Judy, I knew I had to get rid of her. She's got your determination. She's got your spirit. She's your blood. _She_. . ."

Trine trailed off suddenly. She paused in her walking, standing next to all the charred machines. Then she looked up, hanging April in front of her. There was a glow in her eyes that April horrifyingly recognized. She had come up with an idea, a plan that she thought was genius but in reality would probably be pure insanity.

"You're identical twins! You must have the same bloodtype! _Ha_!" Trine grinned a full row of pearly teeth, hanging April a little closer to her face. "There's no way you don't! I need blood from her. I mean, the amount I would need might actually end up killing _you_. But now, I can just take it from her! And then, we really can be together and be happy!"

" _No_! Take it from me instead! I'm begging you!"

"No, April! I don't care about Judy, but I care about you. And for now, I'll need you, but when she comes here to rescue you like the good sister she is, she'll have to give me, what I want."

April felt anger at this idea. She grit her teeth, and with one swing as Trine stood there laughing, plunged her feet into her face. In surprise she was dropped, landing on her feet. April felt panic swamp her as she began to run across the dusty ground. She looked back, seeing the zebra chasing her, enraged at what she'd just done to her.

"You can't escape me! I hope you know that!" Trine roared from behind her. April saw her opportunity, climbing up onto the fallen bridge. She used the holes in the bridge as footholds, beginning to climb up as though it was a rockwall.

There was so much adrenaline pulsating through her she could hardly breathe. She was halfway up. There was hope. She was going to get out of this death-hole and warn Judy! Whether Trine liked it, _or-_

From out of nowhere, something zapped her. She felt electricity hit her spine, surprising her half to death. She'd been tasered, something she realized in agony as she felt her paws slipping from the grate. Limply, she fell backwards, hitting the ground a few moments later. She was too numb-feeling to scream in pain as she felt something in her foot snap as she slammed it against the ground on impact. She continued to lie there in agony, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her, but recovering just enough to actually manage to scream. Her foot throbbed as she was lifted off of the ground, held tightly around the wrist.

"Maybe you should learn that we'll never be apart. No matter how hard you try."

April's body was so confused on what it should do she just began sobbing. All her muscles ached from the taser, but her foot hurt worse. Most of all, her frustration was worsening the agony she was in. She was carried away, not even bothering to fight it.

Her fate, whatever it was, would be carried out in room #628 now.

* * *

Hey guys! So sorry that it's been so long! So much has been going on this Christmas break that I've hardly had time to sit down. Not to mention I had a serious case of writer's block. But no fear! The next chapter should be up extremely soon, possibly this week. I've got so many ideas now, it looks like for a little while I've escaped writer's block. I hope you guys had a great Christmas and a very happy New Year! I'm so glad it's not 2016 anymore.

 **Reviews;**

 **WritingAurora - Thanks so much for saying that! I really am so honored to be complimented like that.. you don't know how happy it makes me!**

 **AlbineFox - Aww it's okay though because she's nice now! Right? ;)**

 **BlueberryCarrots - lol your reviews always kill me! Thank you very much for the compliment! If everything actually was blue that'd be pretty cool since blue is my favorite color. But maybe I would be sick of blue if everything were blue... man now you've got me thinking! lol**

Til next time, guys. :)


	17. Chapter 17 - The Secret and the Store

Judy and Nick sat down together in the dining room, the biggest room of the house.

There had to be a seat for everybody at the table, meaning that the room stretched pretty far to fit 276 children, a pair of parents and grandparents. So, it was a pretty big, empty room they were sitting in with only the two of them.

Nick and Judy talked about it for a good while, trying to figure out anything, any way that they could possibly fix the situation at hand. Nick had an idea in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to say it aloud. He really, really did not want to resort to a plan that might not even end up working to begin with.

"But if we did that, then we would need some way to distract the animals to go to this side of town, and we have no way of getting there, nor do we have any distraction tools." Judy finally said after Nick had conjured up a second decently thought-out plan. "So what is the real plan?"

"What?" Nick asked instantly, confused.

"You think I don't notice you fidgeting or something?" Judy raised an eyebrow. Nick only scowled at her. "What exactly are you thinking about?"

"Just trying to see if I can think of any connections I have in Zootopia. . . but nothing's coming to me," he lied.

"Oh! Mr. Big! Well, never mind. He's got an army of polar bears waiting to rip us to shreds." Judy said in annoyance. She looked back up. "So. . . who?"

"Judy?" Nick asked in a sing-songy voice, "Would you please not try to pry right now?"

"But it's bothering you," Nick instantly sighed at Judy's further prying. She frowned at his sighing. "Okay, look. Do we really have a reason for secrets now? Why don't we just get it all out in the open?"

"It's not really a secret," Nick shrugged.

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Carrots- alright, fine." Nick finally threw in the towel, although she had not pried that much, he just really did not have the patience to be asked repeatedly about it right now. "I do have one connection, I guess. He's in Tundratown." Judy watched him carefully. "No, not Mr. Big. My. . . uh, actual dad."

"Your dad lives in Tundratown and you never visited him?" Judy asked in bewilderment.

"It's not as simple as that, Carrots." Nick said in frustration. "I told you that he left my mom and I when I was really young. I don't know the guy and he's practically dead to me at this point."

"How do you know he's there? How could he help us?"

"My mom didn't lie to me, she told me all about him. But she never could forgive him for walking out on us when he did. We never visited her and he never visited us. When things got difficult and money got tight and he got fired from his job." Nick grumbled miserably. Much to Judy's surprise, the light on his collar had stayed green. "Okay, off topic. The thing is, I just don't know if I could face him. He never tried to reach out to me either."

"Nick, you have to meet him. That's your dad! I mean. . . he's all you've got left of family. You just. . . you can't wait til it's too late."

"What?" Nick asked, taken aback. "What's this, coming from you all of a sudden, Fluff?"

"It's true, isn't it? What'll it hurt if you meet him?"

"Judy, I appreciate the suggestion, but if you didn't notice, the world is in turmoil right now, and we're wasting time. So, let's get back on the topic."

"No Nick, you're not gonna worm your way out of this one." Judy said sternly. "There's another reason you brought him up. It was for the plan. So what exactly did you have in mind?"

Nick hesitated. If he told Judy, there would be no convincing her otherwise to find some other way to fix Zootopia's problem. He sighed.

"My dad was good with technical things. He runs a shop down in Tundratown where he fixes computers and other electronics. What I was thinking was. . . maybe he could replicate one of these." Nick pulled out the collar-scanner, laying it against the table. "But it's entirely far-fetched. It's a fifty-fifty shot. If we could even make it to Tundratown, and if we can even get him to do it. We wouldn't even know if he's there. It's just risky."

"Well, what else have we got to try?" Judy asked.

"Rabbit, I don't think that it's a good idea. Really."

"Why?" Judy demanded. "Nick, you don't want to live having a regret the rest of your life."

"A regret? What are you even talking about?"

"Having to live with the regret of never meeting your dad! You'll regret it Nick, you don't want that on your head. You have to see him."

"You don't know the first thing about my regrets." Nick said, getting agitated.

"You don't know about mine either." Judy said, trying to keep level-headed. "What is it? Why can't you just see him?"

"I went through the PDT like Gideon did." Judy instantly faltered, staring in shock. "Did you think that I would've just looked on and watch my own mother be beaten? I tried to help her by intervening! But it didn't do a thing except close off the opportunity of my dad ever claiming me again because those prey were so quick to ruin my life. I think it was the first thing they told the police about when they got there. About 'attacking' them." Nick said bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about it. . ."

"No. It's fine. I have no feelings toward him, and I'm sure he has none toward me as well. I'm sure he didn't care that the PDT took place to begin with because I'd never even met him. But it would've been nice to maybe. . . get a little attention from him before that happened. But it's not about the PDT. I just. . . I don't want to meet him. I don't think I'd be able to handle it."

Judy stared down at the map, an unusual, uncool look on her face. Nick blinked, finding her behavior a little concerning. "Are you alright?"

"Are you?" Judy asked, staring at him. "I mean, you should hate me. I was a cop, I was a speciesist, I'm a prey. What stopped you from hating me?"

"Well. . ." Nick trailed off, unsure of what she was currently going on about. The sudden topic change caught him off guard. There was a look in her eyes that made him feel a little worried about her. "I took it all out on myself as a kid. I built up an immunity. It wasn't hard to come to like you despite those things."

"But someone like me, I'm terrible. You _should_ hate me."

"Carrots?" Nick asked, immediately feeling a little more concerned.

"Family was all you had, and you had fought to keep what little you had. Family was all I had, too. And all I did was betray my family!" Judy slammed her fist on the table. Nick sat there, stunned, entirely confused at the sudden outburst. She opened her eyes, as though she had come back to her senses. Judy lifted her head up. "Just ignore me. It's nothing." Judy stood up, leaping from the seat.

"Hold on, Carrots! Wait! _Judy_!" Nick called to to her, but she'd already disappeared through the door. He was entirely confused on the sudden change in attitude. It was clear to him that something he had said made her feel a certain way. He stood up as well, leaving the room to see that the front door was wide open. In the dark Nick could see her figure disappearing into the distance.

Instantly he swiped the scanner from the table and ran through the door after her, trying to keep up with her. He really did not know what had gotten into her, especially since he had only been talking about his past. What did she mean by betraying her family? What was that supposed to mean?

He felt like he'd run for a good ten minutes before he made a turn. In the distance there was a lake, where Judy had gone to, hopefully, to think. He knew it wasn't safe out here. They shouldn't even be away from the farm, but. . . here they were anyways.

He tapped the scanner with his claws uncertainly, cautiously walking toward the lake. He was sure any one of those predators would love to get a meal right now, and he wasn't about to let that happen, so. . .

Finally he caught sight of her sitting beneath one of the many trees that surrounded the lake. Nick wasn't really sure what to say. It was probably beyond her knowledge that he'd actually pursued her. She stayed watching the lake, not even noticing he'd come up behind her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. She flinched a little, turning around in an instant and leaping up, one fist balled and raised. But when she saw it was him, she froze, putting her arm down slowly.

"S-sorry. I didn't think it was you."

"Are you crazy?" Nick demanded, grabbing onto her shoulders. "You could've been somebody's chew toy!"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just. . ." she grabbed onto her arm, closing her eyes in anxiousness. "I've just had something I've been wanting to tell you, to tell anyone for years. I've never told anyone. Not my parents, not my siblings, no one. But I feel like you would. . . listen, and maybe not end up hating me since you don't by now."

Nick suddenly felt a little nervous. He let go of her and she turned back to the lake, sitting. He sat down beside her patiently, waiting for any sort of explanation. She just began to shake her head.

"Well, you know about my sister. You know how she was kidnapped, but. . . I don't think I ever told you how it really happened."

"You said that a fox sweet talked you and your siblings."

"It was a set up." Judy said, scrunching her eyes shut. "I was the one who was supposed to be kidnapped."

"What?" Nick's eyes widened, a little dumbfounded by this information.

"I know. The fox came to kidnap me, but instead, I begged for mercy. I was the one who sweet talked her. She knew I had a twin for whatever creepy reason, and agreed she'd take April instead of me."

Nick felt a little uneasy at this.

"What else could I do? I panicked! She said she'd hurt my parents. I didn't want that to happen. But I. . . thinking back on it, I had other reasons too. I should've been a good sister and taken the hit for April, but I just sold her out, like that. She was always the. . . perfect child. Everyone loved her, she was nice, even got along with Gideon. It was like I was her shadow. I didn't want to be the shadow." Judy said the last part quietly. Her eyes stayed on the lake, tears formulating in them.

"It was awful, terrible. I truly did think about the possibilities that could play out, how I could save her. I thought maybe I could fix it. My parents and I all tried to find that fox again after the fact. But when the fox came to our farm again, and she took April, I had to pretend to be sweet-talked by her. She claimed to have candy for us. She said we should ask our parents if it was okay to go to her car, so the younger siblings left. Then it was us three."

Nick watched, unsure of what to say as she began to sob.

"S-so I lied to my sister and told her she'd come right back if she just went to check if there really was anything for us in the car. And after that, we never saw her again. It was all my fault. I'm a monster."

"Judy. . ." Nick trailed off, not sure what he could say. All he could do was wrap a comforting arm around her as she cried. "What else were you supposed to do? It must've been really. . . terrifying."

"I didn't even know if she was alive! And the worst part was the fox said that it wouldn't be for a long time. She promised me she would bring April back, she promised me that she would've brought me back. But I didn't want to go with her. And now, April has been out there for fifteen years, missing. All because of me."

"You thought she would come back, you didn't mean to do it, Judy."

"No! I did. I wanted her to disappear for a while, just to see what it was like to be my own person for once. I had no twin to try and outshine. It was so stupid. . . I can't believe I did that."

"The fox out-foxed you. You weren't old enough to know."

"I was old enough to understand that I would be taken away from my family!" Judy said, looking up at him. "And she doesn't even know. She'll hate me when she finds out, if we ever get back to her. . ."

Nick held back a sigh, trying to figure out what he could possibly say. It was a terrible deed, but at the same time, it was an understandable one as well. No one wanted to be kidnapped.

"We're going to get back to her." Nick promised. Judy pulled away, rubbing at her eyes. For a few moments there was silence until Judy talked again, sniffling.

"I've never told anyone about it. You're the only one who knows now." Judy said, looking back out to the water.

"How does it feel to get that out finally?" Nick asked her. He knew that talking about his problems made him feel better, despite the fact that he couldn't stand doing it half the time.

"Well. . . it feels. . . a bit better," she admitted.

"You did well in keeping it behind closed doors for so long." Nick said.

"I guess so. . . but it felt so heavy on my shoulders. I just. . . you don't hate me?" she cocked her head.

"Obviously not. I don't think anyone should hate you. It was just a mistake."

"Thank you," she said genuinely, not looking at him still. "This is why I say you can't live with a regret like _that_."

"I do have a regret like that already though." Nick said. "I've always blamed myself for my mother's death." Judy looked at him, noticing he was looking at her. A soft expression was on his face. "But I guess both of us aren't perfect. We've both screwed up. We've made mistakes, but everyone does. Right?" he asked, as though looking for some sort of closure. "And now you have a chance to fix your mistake. You can fix what happened to your sister. You still have that chance."

Judy stood up, brushing dirt off of her. She looked back at him.

"And you have a chance to fix a mistake, too. So please, just tell me that you'll try. That you'll try to make amends with your father, and try to be there for your remaining family like when I should have been there for my sister? You've already lost so much time with him as is. We don't live forever."

Nick stared back, a little surprised at the prompt. She looked at him desperately, a begging look in her eyes.

Nick had lied to her when he said he felt nothing toward his father. He couldn't stand his father for what he did. For how he abandoned his wife and son for practically no good reason. But he could at least try, he supposed. The fox stood too, looking at her seriously.

"We'll head for Tundratown in the morning and see if we can get the scanner replicated." Judy smiled in what looked to be relief. "But only if you'll promise me something."

Judy's ears flattened, unsure of what he would say, especially after she had just admitted her biggest secret to him.

"If you promise me that you'll stop blaming yourself for what happened to April. You didn't know that she wouldn't ever come back. And you were afraid. You can't just blame yourself for all of that."

"Only if you promise me you won't keep beating yourself up over your mom's death." Judy instantly replied. Nick felt a bit taken aback by that. He felt his fists ball in frustration. The slight tick that he heard reminded him that his collar was still monitoring his emotions. Judy stared hopefully, her paws clasped together. He stayed silent for a few more moments before he let all of the tension go.

"Alright. I promise that I'll at least try." Nick sighed. She grinned up at him. "Don't be too happy Carrots. I said I'd _try_."

"I'm just happy that I'm not alone in this." Nick was surprised when Judy ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for not thinking I'm a monster."

He felt his face grow warm as he finally returned the embrace. Just a few weeks ago, he thought she was nothing more than another speciesist police officer. Maybe if that fire had not started in the factory that day. . . things would have been different, and he would've gotten his collar changed, and then he would have been brainwashed. That one encounter had changed how he felt about a lot of things. And the same with her as well.

"I mean, I might have thought you were a little annoying fluffball when I first met you that day, but I didn't think you were a monster. I could never think that." He smiled as she broke away from him.

"Nick. . . how did you, a fox, end up being my best friend?"

"Oh, so now you're friendzoning me?" he asked, completely clearing up the previous tense and depressing mood. "I think we had a date scheduled a little while ago."

"Seriously?" she looked at him, unamusement written all over her face. Then, much to his surprise, a smirk appeared, and she tore him forward by his tie. "That's still on, by the way."

He blinked, then frowned. She let him go and began to walk away. He just shook his head at her.

"So I boost your self-esteem by one percent and you get all cocky with me? I was just letting you cry on my shoulder a second ago!" he pointed out. Judy looked back, laughing.

"Well, thanks to you, I feel a lot better. Now let's go before we really turn into someone's chew toy. You've got a dad to see tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning just as they planned, Nick and Judy immediately left to head for Tundratown. Had Zootopia not been on the verge of destruction and anyone walked in on the inhabitants of the house on a normal day, it would have been a bizarre sight. Over two hundred rabbits, a possum, a fox and a fennec fox all staying there together was a pretty strange mixture. Judy and Nick would be going on this trip alone. Of course some of the others had wanted to go to help, but they didn't want anyone to get hurt. So, they simply left early in the morning when no one noticed.

It would be a long time til they would reach their destination. The two of them headed for the train station which wasn't that far off. It was a risky shot to try and find Nick's father. But it was at least something, and that's all that really mattered. They would take the same train that they'd left at the train station back through Zootopia. They wouldn't be able to reach Downtown because the rails were destroyed, but they would reach Tundratown since it came before Downtown.

Once they boarded on the train, all they could do was wait before they got there. The ride would be considerably shorter, thankfully, but Nick wished it was longer. He didn't want to meet that fox. He would have rather had no feelings toward him than hate him.

Nick couldn't imagine how it was so possible to hate someone he had never even met in his whole life.

Before he had time to adjust to this, they'd arrived at the Tundratown train station. Both of them were on the edge. It was going to be dangerous out there.

Nick knew exactly where to go, though. He'd passed by it so many times, so tempted to go in there and confront his father for what he did. Nick wasn't innocent either. He knew what exactly would happen if he fought back and tried to protect his mother. But he didn't care. It wasn't like his father ever cared about him.

Nick and Judy got off of the train side by side. The cold air of Tundratown greeted them as if it were a bad omen. All he had to do was get Judy there in one piece. That's all he cared about. As long as his father would cooperate with Judy, they would all be fine.

Wordlessly the two crept through the train station and out into the streets. There were footprints littered across the snow. Small and big alike, but there was no one there now. It was like an icy ghost town.

"So where do you think he is?" Judy asked. They still kept their caution when moving around in the area, watching all over for any predators. Nick put out an arm to block Judy as a snarling started up. A small otter dressed in winter clothing crossed in front of them on all fours, growling as it disappeared into the alleyway next to them.

"It's a tech shop down by Sleet Street. John's Repairing Services and Goods." Nick responded matter-of-factly. He had learned to hate that place and to never go there, as much as he was tempted to.

"Aren't the businesses usually located on Polar Place?" Judy asked as they pushed forward, the frosty wind blowing in their faces.

"No. This was a homemade business." Nick said, sounding almost disgusted. They headed forward. They would arrive there shortly. This thought made Nick only more anxious, and he could feel himself getting a bit tense.

There were not many predators here, probably because of how cold it was. Tundratown wasn't a popular predator spot in general, though. Maybe the idea wasn't so bad after all.

"We're idiots." Judy suddenly said as they snuck across another sidewalk.

"Why?"

"We forgot warm clothes."

"We're idiots." Nick echoed in conclusion as he realized just how cold he was.

This didn't slow them down, however. They continued onward until finally, in front of them from across the street read the name of the shop in big letters. Nick stared up at it, his heart starting to pound. He'd never seen his father, nonetheless been in the same room with him while he could consciously remember.

He had to keep himself calm, though. There was a feeling inside of him that he couldn't shake off. A bad feeling about what would happen when they got inside. Judy grabbed onto his hand, looking up at him. He woke up a little, looking down at her. Finally, he prepared himself and just nodded.

The two of them headed over to the front door.

Nick cautiously pushed it open with one paw. None of the lights were on, and it was pretty dark inside. Judy pulled out her phone to turn on the light, looking around with it. Nick almost didn't want to shut the door. The place was giving him the creeps just by standing in it. There was a haunting silence.

"I knew this wouldn't work." Nick groaned, dragging a paw down his face. He looked around the little shop. There were televisions and clocks and other various technology-based items hanging on the walls, and behind the counter. It wasn't a very big store, just good enough to get the job done.

"Nick. . ."

Judy's whisper made Nick a little uncomfortable. He walked up beside her, and the two of them were now facing a second door, which probably led to the back. Nick felt himself actually become a little scared at what could be behind the door. The outside store was untouched as though nothing had taken place there.

"If anything, he'll have a collar on. Let me go first." Nick said, pulling out the scanner. Judy looked up worriedly.

"We're in this together, so we'll go together."

Nick just sighed, knowing that he would be unable to sway her. He just nodded.

Nick slowly opened the door, holding up the scanner as if it were a gun. He opened it all the way as Judy began shining her phone light around the room.

It was a small room, but there were two other doors. One of the doors was unblocked, but the other had a barricade pushed up against it. A wooden door was pressed up against the knob, keeping it in place. There was a bang from behind the door, that made both the rabbit and fox leap out of their fur, but which also prompted some whimpers that did not come from them. This only scared them more.

Judy shined her light in the direction of which the noise came to see six eyes staring back, reflecting the light. Unexpectedly, it was three foxes all sitting together in the corner, huddled for warmth. Their reaction to Judy and Nick was fear.

"Don't hurt us!" one of them cried. One of the others shushed her, as another bang came from behind the door. There was a growling now that could be heard, possibly prompted from the cry of the child.

All three of the foxes were too young to have collars on. This didn't make them so much of a threat.

"Are you kids alright?" Judy asked, slowly walking toward them. The eldest, a female, leapt up to block her two other siblings.

"Look, we don't have anything that you'll want! Just leave us alone!"

Judy froze in place at this, understanding just how distrusting they were. She was about to reply saying how she was just an officer trying to help, but realized that probably wouldn't have gone over well.

"We're not going to hurt you." Nick said gently, coming up beside Judy. The two of them exchanged a glance. The eldest child's eyes widened upon seeing Nick's collar, pressing back a little.

"You. . . have a collar on, and you're not crazy?" she asked. He nodded cautiously, not wanting to freak her out. She seemed to let her guard down slightly, until another slam came from the door.

Nick pushed Judy to the side, gripping the scanner tightly.

"What exactly is behind that door?" Nick asked the child, who still stood protectively by her other siblings.

"Our mom," she said, confident in her answer. Nick's focus landed back on the door.

"Judy, you kick the chair. Whoever's behind there will come out, and I'll take care of it from there." Nick said. Judy nodded. There was another loud slam. The door was already broken and almost ready to be busted open.

In one swift motion, Judy kicked the chair out of the way, which tumbled against the wall. The door flew open, and out came running the angered mother fox. The children instantly screamed in terror upon seeing their mother run at Nick on all fours.

He raised the scanner just in time to meet her collar as she leapt at him. She flew past him instead as the collar came undone. She hit the ground, rolling across it. The collar sat a few feet away.

Nick sighed, seeing as that wasn't much of an obstacle as he would've thought.

"Nick!"

Judy's yell was a second too late. From the door behind them a much bigger fox leapt out. It landed right on top of him, throwing him backwards onto the ground. He stared into its eyes, a look of rage in them.

"What're you doing? Scan him!" Judy's shout brought Nick out of his daze. He raised it up, pressing it to the collar. Instantly, it popped open, and the bigger fox collapsed.

Nick pushed him off, leaping to his feet and pressing back against the wall. He panted in exasperation.

"Anyone else I should know about? Aunt? Uncle? Grandma? Friendly neighbor?" he demanded, not letting his guard down this time. He didn't get an answer though. The three children hugged their mother, who was utterly confused as to what was happening. The bigger fox, who Nick assumed was their dad, had only just come back to his senses.

Judy took back her position beside Nick. The kits were obviously happy to see their mom and dad back from the brainwashing they'd gone under. After a hug was shared by everyone, the kids started to talk.

"It was so scary! We gave you food and water, but it was hard trying to get it under the door without you trying to hurt us!"

"Then Dad escaped, and we thought we really were in trouble because he was trying to find us! He left for a while though, so we could actually get some sleep."

"If the nice fox and rabbit had never come, we might've all been dead!" the youngest one said a bit too happily. This seemed to alarm the two parents who looked up at each other, and then then both laid eyes on Judy and Nick. Instantly, the two felt a little stiff at all the eyes now on them.

"Is that true?" the mother asked.

"Yeah, uh. . . it wasn't a big deal. We should probably get going, actually-"

"Nonsense! We have to repay you somehow. You saved our children and us. We're indebted to you."

The father outstretched his hand to Judy. She shook it uncertainly, and then he went to Nick.

"What's your name, boy?"

"It's ah, it's Nick," he said, shaking the older fox's hand with awkwardness. That made the other fox stop, though. He looked at Nick, squinting a little.

"Nick. Nick Wilde. . ?"

Judy was already connecting the dots, and had realized what was going on here. She had to hold back a gasp, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Yeah. . . how did you know my last name?" Nick asked obliviously.

The other fox stepped back for a second, trying to take Nick in fully. The other foxes were silent, their eyes wide. Nick's ears flattened to his head as he started to realize.

How had he not realized sooner? How hadn't he put the pieces together?

"Because I'm John. . . your father."

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry that it's been a month. I feel so bad for putting off writing the next chapter so much. I got really sick a few weeks ago, didn't go to school for almost two weeks and had to make up all the work. I'm still in the process of doing that... but yeah! Finally found some free time to actually write. I feel like this chapter is a bit rushed, so I apologize for that! But I think it's time for the story to start wrapping up... maybe. :)

Reviews;

 **The Murderous Duck: Thanks so much dude! I am glad that you're enjoying!**

 **Astrid Brown: Thanks so much! I thought the letting the whole collar idea go to waste thing was a shame too! That's what led me to write this story! As for the Robin Hood story, that's a pretty cool idea! I'll see if I have time, I think I'd actually have to rewatch Robin Hood if I want to write it haha. I'd want to finish this story first though before starting another! Or maybe it'd just be a oneshot, I don't know. I'll consider it though dude! I'm honestly honored that someone would personally ask me to write a fanfiction!**

 **BlueberryCarrots: LOL man your reviews always kill me. Thanks for reviewing and reading like you always do!**

Thanks so much to all of you who follow/favorite/review the story, you guys bring smiles to my face! I appreciate every single one of you who have kept up with the story this far. Feel free to leave a review to let me know what you thought! Until next time!


	18. Chapter 18 - Family

Look at who's back...

Let me start by saying I'm so sorry. Genuinely, I apologize from the bottom of my heart about leaving this story to die. I never meant to do that, but real life took me forcefully by the hands and dragged me into a lot of stuff. I've been so busy, incredibly busy that I haven't even had time to check on this story or plot more ideas for it. I assure you that this isn't dead any longer. This story will be finished this summer, that is a fact.

I've dealt with a lot these past few months and it has been emotionally and physically draining. And I know you're all mad (if anyone is still interested in this story) but I promise it won't happen again. I know, I've said that all before... but really, so many unexpected things happened. I'm preparing for college, had a graduation, family/personal issues, the whole lot of it. My life has been extremely overwhelming and I hope it's understandable.

As long as people are interested in this, then I'll finish it. If I get a few reviews for this chapter then it'll be a bit reassuring to me haha. I'm not trying to beg for reviews or anything, but reviews keep me extremely motivated, especially at this point where I don't feel like anyone would want to read anymore! I said this story would be wrapping up soon, and I was right. It won't be much longer till it's finished, and I will finish as long as there's people who are interested! Could we get a few reviews on this chapter? :) Anyways, I love you guys and hope that you'll stay with me till the end, even if I've left it open for so long! I know it's awful to be reading a fanfic to only find... oh, it was never finished. But I won't do that to you guys!

Anyways, this one is a bit shorter than usual but I promise the next will be longer. I wanted to give you guys something as soon as possible! I apologize again, and enjoy.

* * *

Judy's enthusiasm almost immediately fell flat as the seconds ticked by. Judy, in her short time of knowing him, had never seen Nick so vulnerable and scared before. His ears were flattened to his head, and he was pressed up to the wall as much as he could be, a look of pure disbelief on his face. She remembered his brief warning of this occurrence happening before; "I don't think I'd be able to handle it."

John stared back, seeming a bit more judgmental now, of the fox who had helped him retake his sanity. Judy looked back and forth, hoping anyone would say anything to clear the air even in the slightest. She could see that the vixen on the other side of the room seemed to feel the same way, whilst the kids looked on in complete confusion. The rabbit wracked her brain for any ideas. . . when the vixen finally spoke up.

"You _never_ told me you had a son."

Judy was taken aback by the anger dripping off of her words. Immediately, the stare-off between father and son was broken as John's blue eyes darted over to the vixen.

"Marie, now is _not_ the time for this."

"I want answers right now."

Marie spoke in a calm-sounding voice, but the fury raging in her eyes showed how she truly felt. Judy however was still wondering if the anger was directed toward Nick's existence, or the fact that John had kept it a secret. The children looked on, all huddled beneath the angry mother. It was clear they'd heard this tone before and were not making any moves.

John finally sighed.

"He just was. . . I wasn't. . . we never knew each other."

"But he's an adult! And you never acknowledged him, or even considered telling me about the fact that we left behind a family member?" she went on, clearly taking Nick's side now. His eyes were wide, and from where he stayed flattened to the wall, he stared at his stepmother.

"It was PDT, Marie! He would have just made our life more complicated. We would have risked getting in trouble!"

"There's ways to get the PDT reversed! You act like we couldn't have fought for him at all."

Now, Nick was entirely stunned. He was slowly realizing just how much the idea of 'family' meant to the vixen.

"He just wasn't _relevant_!" John spat at her. A look of shock appeared on her face. The two stared at each other, till one of the vixen's paws rose to cover her widened mouth. The sudden silence was interrupted by a laugh, soaked with venom and anger. Judy slowly turned toward Nick, feeling her heart leap into her throat at the expression on his face. She'd never seen him quite so angry, and it was terrifying. His lips were drawn back, and his eyes were ablaze with a roaring fire of hate.

" _Really_?" his voice sounded strangled. "Just when I thought I _couldn't_ despise you more."

John just snarled at him in response. "What've you got against me? _You're_ the one who triggered the PDT to take place."

" _I_ wasn't the one who left his family!" Nick's yell echoed throughout the whole building. "You'd think maybe, _maybe_ if you hadn't left for your own selfish reasons, our family would still be whole! But oh _no_ , now, you've got a whole new family! I am just _so_ sorry for interrupting here," he went on sarcastically, "I'm sure that your life is perfect, living with the guilt of leaving behind your wife and child!"

Judy truly realized how much of a miracle it was that Nick's collar hadn't gone off yet. It was a dark orange, but he was somehow maintaining his rage to some extent still.

"You think I don't regret it?" John snarled back at him. "It wasn't my fault that your mother was incompetent. She whined at me constantly about everything. She was never truly happy with me, and I understood that."

"Liar," Nick hissed, staring, the fire still in his eyes. "My mother was not incompetent. Because of you she had to do everything and work twice as harder just to try and get us a decent life in a world like this!"

Judy was really scared about what was going to happen.

"No. I tried to give her and you a good life. But it just wasn't enough for her wants. _You_ had to suffer because your mother was disagreeable and unhappy with what she had. She was one of the worst-tempered vixens I'd ever met. Truly, she ruined my life. That's why I wanted to start anew."

Nick's eyes flashed with a new, hungered fury. In the blink of eye he'd leaped forward, slamming his father back into the wall, pinning him there. A disgusted, sarcastic laugh emerged somewhere deep from inside of Nick as he leaned in closer to his father's face. Judy was going to try and say anything when he spoke up again.

"I _know_ you didn't just talk about her that way. I _know_ you didn't."

"I did," John challenged. "What are you going to do, Nicholas? What will you do to me? I'm all you've got left. Clearly your fantastic mother never taught you a thing or two about respect. I knew she would've never been successful in becoming one. I should've taken you with me when I left."

Nick's grip moved from his shoulder to his throat, and he didn't break eye contact once.

"You're the one with no respect. My mother did everything in the world for me. You've done nothing for me. And if you insult her one more time, I swear to-"

The sound of a gun readying instantly silenced him. The only thing that could be heard was the now, very rapid beeping of Nick's collar.

"Stop!" Judy yelled as John pushed it to Nick's forehead. The other foxes stayed silent in shock. Immediately, Nick faltered a little, falling backwards onto the ground. John kept it pointed at him, not moving a muscle. Nick stared down the barrel, then looked up at John. The color on Nick's collar slowly began to revert back to normal. He swallowed harshly.

"Go ahead. It'll be just like Mom all over again." Nick said, staring up. John frowned at that.

"What are you talking about?"

" _Oh_!" Nick snapped, his anger seeming to come back upon him in an instant, the color on the collar flourishing instantly. "You never heard? She's _dead_. And _you_ weren't there when she needed _you_ most, and you weren't there at her funeral when _I_ needed you most!"

"That's a lie!" John fought back, not wanting to believe it. "She's not dead!"

"What could I possibly do to prove it to you? She's dead, all _becau_ -" Nick faltered as finally, the limits of his collar had been breached. A small beep emitted from his collar, sending out the electricity that would soon paralyze him. Judy could only watch helplessly as a wave of pain covered his body, pricking at his skin all at once. Not wanting to add to his already growing humiliation, he somehow sat still until the agony wracking his body finally passed, and he was able to breathe after a moment.

"Nick!" Judy shouted from where she stood. From the corner of his eye he saw her beginning to run toward him, but he put up a paw. She came to an instant stop, staring in fright.

"I'm fine," Nick managed to say a bit hoarsely. He looked back up as his anger finally began to ebb away. Finally, he was able to speak a bit more clearly. "I could go on and on all day about my personal sob story, but I'll save you the trouble. So, what's it going to be? Are you going to pump me full of lead just like the cops did to her?"

Nick stared seriously. Judy was already thinking how she could get Nick out of the situation he'd gotten himself in.

"I didn't know that she died," John uttered softly, a look of grief overcoming his face. His anger had seemed to vanish completely. Nick's expression remained hard as stone. So, it took an electrocution to convince him.

"She died defending me. I dare you to call her a terrible mother again." Nick challenged him.

Out of nowhere, Marie instantly saw her opportunity to strike, nabbing the gun out of John's paws whilst simultaneously punching him in the face, knocking him over. For a little vixen, she was powerful.

Judy instantly ran to Nick's side, being leveled with him now from where he was sitting on the ground. It was like the shock factor was still in play, his face revealing that in his mind, he was somewhere distant from where they all were as he thought of the day his mother died. Nick hardly realized she was there until he looked at Judy.

The ex-cop only managed a small smile, her brows furrowing as she raised a paw to his cheek.

"Are you okay?"

"Decent would be a better word." He said, focusing his attention back onto the scene in front of them.

"I honestly can't believe this John. How. . . how could you do that?" Marie demanded angrily. "You pulled a _gun_ on him? When exactly did you get that?" She simply just shook her head, pocketing it herself. "Never mind. I know you have secrets already that I don't know about."

Nick and Judy just blinked in surprise at her defensiveness. It was to be expected, though.

John got to his feet, towering over his wife. The two stared at each other. Anger and betrayal could be seen in the vixen's eyes, and in John's, there was pain. After a moment he silently left the room, heading out into the main store area, the door slamming behind him. Silence covered the room like a blanket until a few moments later as it was broken.

"That. . . _was awesome_!" the youngest exclaimed, raising his fists into the air.

"Andrew." Marie said glaringly, staring him down. The kit instantly went silent. "You, Sadie and Heather can go upstairs. Now."

The three looked to Nick one last time before following their mother's orders, leaving the room. Judy felt a little more relaxed now, and she could tell Nick did too as his collar's color went back down to a light yellow. He was still on the edge, though.

"I'm sorry. . ." The vixen spoke up, her tone sounding a bit bitter. "Excuse his rudeness. And excuse me as well. I truly was not expecting to have another son just roaming all by himself."

Nick's gaze hardened a little as he got to his feet, brushing himself off. His eyes searched the ground for a moment before he looked up, a confused expression on his face.

"Another son? You don't even know me." Nick reasoned.

"You're still my family, aren't you?" she asked in a softer voice. She suddenly got a bit distracted, moving her paws up to feel around her neck. There was a look of relief on her face to not feel cold metal around her neck. But she gazed across at Nick. "What've you still got that on for?" she asked.

Nick reached into his pocket a bit shakily, still stirred up from his near-death experienced, pulling out the scanner. He handed it to her, and she glanced up, a little confused looking.

"We came here to see if this could be replicated. The collar I have right now is an old one. So, this little tool has no effect on it. Trust me when I'd say it'd be off in an instant otherwise."

The vixen blinked, looking down and rotating it in her paw. She smiled a bit.

"Sure, I can replicate one of these. We can get that collar off of you in no time."

She began to walk away to another room, but Nick just stood in place, dumbfounded.

"Now. . . just hold on. I thought that John was the one who was good with technology." Judy hurried after Marie, following her to the next room. This was the other door that they hadn't explored. Judy was a little surprised to see that it was like an inventor's paradise.

All along the walls were tools and some unfixed laptops and televisions sat in the corner. Marie flicked the lights on, moving over to a desk, placing down the scanner.

"He is. But I am too. We met each other at a convention. _Dreamy_ , I know." Marie said a little too sarcastically. She looked back at the little bunny curiously. "What's your name?"

"Oh, it's Judy," the rabbit responded awkwardly.

"Judy Hopps? I've heard your name before."

"She was a supposed criminal." Nick said quickly from his place in the doorway. "But she's innocent. She was framed, and now all of Zootopia is pretty much brainwashed. . . which is why we need more of those scanners. It's a long story."

Marie had already picked up her tools and had begun to work.

"I see." She said a little too calmly for what had just happened. "I wonder what made you change your mind about us predators, considering you've been tagging along with one."

Judy felt a little more awkward at that statement.

"I guess I just realized you aren't all bad. I didn't get it before. It's a long story." She shrugged. Marie didn't say anything, but she simply nodded. Her two amber eyes were much calmer now. She still was angered, clearly, but she was hiding it well, biting onto her bottom lip to try and keep quiet. But she couldn't contain herself, not after what she'd seen.

"I really am sorry for John's behavior. I've never seen him act like this to his family." She spoke up a moment later as she gripped her screwdriver a little too tightly. Nick and Judy exchanged a glance.

"I didn't mean to cause trouble. I came here because I thought I could trust him in a time like this, where there's predators running around everywhere. But guess not," Nick said bitterly.

"No need to worry about that in a neighborhood like this. Mostly prey live in these parts." She seemed to notice the lack of response. The younger fox was looking away, his arms folded. "It's not your fault." Marie said. But a moment later she looked back down, a dark look coming over her face. "He never told me he'd been married. Never told me that he had a family before. I wonder how many other secrets he's hiding."

Judy and Nick glanced at one another in discomfort.

"You shouldn't let it color your view of him." Nick said. "I understand he didn't want me as a son, but-"

"It doesn't work like that." Marie answered, not taking her eyes off of the desk in front of her. "You don't just throw away loved ones like they're trash. I suppose it had to come out eventually. I never expected it to be during a predator apocalypse."

Nick didn't say anything to that. Then she glanced back.

"I'll be a bit yet until this completed. You'll have to stay here for a while."

Judy just nodded. She had noticed that the vixen still looked and sounded hurt. It would probably be best to leave her alone now. But on the other hand, Nick had endless questions. He wanted to know more than what she was already letting on. He wanted to learn more about his father. He wanted to know more about his stepmother. Not to mention he had three half-siblings he'd never known of. There were so many things running through his mind, it was almost too much for him to handle. But he simply dismissed them, somehow, leaving the room wordlessly. Judy was following out behind him when she glanced back. Marie's eyes were focused on her work, but they gave away the pain she was experiencing from the suddenness of it all.

Judy pulled the door closed, sighing. There was brief silence.

"Why. . ." Nick hissed, his fists balled. "Why is she being so nice to me? We aren't even related, and she acts as if. . . as if she's my own. . ." he trailed off.

Judy wasn't quite sure what to say. She stared at Nick, trying to find the right words to say in a trying time such as this. Then, much to her shock, she noticed that tears had swelled up in his eyes. She had never seen the slick and witty fox like this.

"N-Nick, it's okay. . ." she tried to reason with him as he pressed back against the wall, slamming his fist into it.

"I know. But I just. . ." He trailed off, slowly sliding down to the floor. Somehow, he kept it all together as he put his head back against the wall.

Judy decided not to talk as she sat down next to her friend. Her mind only took her back to a little while ago. She was wondering if her family was okay. And most of all, she wondered if her sister was okay.

For a long while the two sat in silence before Nick finally sighed.

"What are we thinking, Carrots? Trying to save the world like this? There's only two of us. It's so hopeless."

Her ear twitched a bit at this.

"We're going to do it. I won't let that female dog get away with what she's done." Judy said firmly. "You've got a family to protect, Nick. And so do I! And if only us know how to fix everything, then. . . then we have to." Nick glanced at her. She was on her feet now, a look of determination in her face. "I've found so much on this journey with you, Nick. I've found compassion and understanding and love. Even though it's been one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life, I couldn't have asked to have anyone else by my side!"

Suddenly, her ears drooped a little. Love. She felt a little heated at the use of her word. In the moment where she'd almost been put to sleep, she'd admitted to Bogo that she'd learned to love Nick. And it still stayed, through and through. That had never changed.

"I know. We'll fix it. And likewise, I have too, Carrots."

Judy's eyes widened a little at this. Her brows furrowed a bit.

"Wait, what? You mean. . . you-"

Her sentence was interrupted by a few pattering sets of paws coming down from the staircase. The predator and prey froze as they both glanced back to see the three fox children standing there.

They all stood straight, the older ones looking a little uncomfortable. But the youngest suddenly smiled.

"Are you guys hungry?" he asked, voice high-pitched. Nick stood, patting himself off as he placed a free paw to his stomach.

"I think the last thing I ate was Gideon's pie. . ." he muttered.

"He means yes." Judy quickly interjected.

"Come on upstairs then!" the young kit invited as he hopped up the stairs. The two sisters quietly followed him. " _Come on_!" he repeated, shouting down from the top of the steps.

Nick just sighed, eventually following them while Judy stayed in place, cocking her head a little.

 _You found love, too?_


	19. Chapter 19 - Room 628

After a much-needed, awkwardly silent meal, Nick and Judy had been quick to get some much-needed rest.  
It had been a while since Judy was able to sleep without feeling scared of being caught. The thought of there being no predators in the general area, unless one managed to wander around, was extremely reassuring to her.

Judy had just woken up from a long, dreamless sleep. She glanced around, realizing that the warmth that she felt pushed up against her was Nick's sleeping form. A little heat rose to her cheeks. Slowly and as quietly as possible, she crawled away and stood, sighing as her feet became instantly cold. The whole building had no power, and it was freezing.

So much so that the three windows in the room had frozen over. There was a bit of morning sunlight peering through the windows, washing over the dusty old storage room.

The nice and small bit of quiet was already vanished. Everything came flooding back as soon as Judy began to think. Zootopia's fate was resting on their shoulders. It was overwhelming for her to ponder on for so long. Judy wondered what life would even be like after all of this was resolved. She knew that Bogo had found out the truth about what really happened, but convincing the rest of the world might be difficult. She didn't want to go down in history as a killer.

She shook her head, scolding herself a little. It was selfish to think about. Right now, everyone needed them. She'd take care of everything else later.

Just as she was going to head toward the stairs, a voice peeped up.

"Hey! Rabbit." The firmness of it made her flinch internally. Judy paused, and she glanced across to see the eldest kit, but still too young to wear a collar, looking at her with wide brown eyes. She felt a little awkward talking with Nick's half-siblings. Previously, she'd thought all the kids to be asleep, but definitely not anymore.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. . . for helping us back there." She said.

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all. I mean, Nick was the one who thought of what to do."

Simply, she just nodded. "Sorry for not talking much, but. . . after yesterday. . ."

"It's okay." Judy raised her paws up. "I understand."

Judy was about to go down the stairs again when the kit quickly spoke up once more.

"Um - you two are nice, despite what the news said about you. You guys were everywhere. Yet he. . . our dad didn't mention the fact that Nick had anything to do with us."

Judy looked back to Nick, feeling a little twist in her heart.

"Well. . . he's got his family now. And that's what matters."

The kit just slowly nodded and went back to laying against the wall. Judy felt a little unsatisfied with their conversation, but left it there. The kit still watched her carefully. This made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Are you alright?" Judy asked, cocking her head.

"Um. . . yeah, fine."

The rabbit just raised an eyebrow, not convinced. It was like she had something else to say. But, Judy decided to leave it for the moment. The rabbit's ear twitched as a voice from downstairs called.

"Judy! Be a dear and come down here please. Bring Nick with you! I've got a surprise waiting."

Judy's ears perked up to hear Nick's stepmother, and suddenly her heart fluttered a little. It was finally time for that stupid, emotion-damaging collar to get taken off.

" _Alright_!" Judy called back gleefully, turning and running over to Nick. She began shaking him. "Come on Nick, wake up! It's finally time!"

He slowly opened his eyes, looking up at her. "What?"

"Your scanner is done! You're finally gonna get a taste of that sweet, sweet freedom." Judy smiled. He seemed to be awake almost instantly.

"That was fast. Almost too fast." He responded groggily. Judy just shrugged.

"Oh, whatever. Hurry up!"

She ran to the top of the stairs, but paused. Her ear twitched a little. Something was holding her back from going down there.

The iciness that was making her feet ache suddenly sent a shiver down her spine. She felt an unexpected weight on her chest.

She'd barely caught onto the very fake tone that Marie had put on. Underlying her false happiness was fear. Judy slowly backed away, uncertainty flooding her.

"So you tell me to hurry up, but-"

Judy put out one paw as Nick ran into it. He too stopped, looking down at her.

"Carrots. . ?"

"It was a ruse this whole time." Judy said, sounding a bit strangled. "Something isn't right down there. And. . . and I think it has to be a trap."

" _What_?" Nick asked in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry! We're sorry!" The duo's heads turned to the three kits who all stood together now.

"Dad told us that it would all be okay if we just - if we just stayed quiet!" The middle child said.

"He told us he was gonna ring the bad lady about you guys." The little one piped up, sounding sad.

"And it was all for your bounty." The eldest admitted, looking away. Judy and Nick couldn't even respond. "We wanted to say something, anything, but it was after you'd went to sleep. And. . ." she trailed off, sounding regretful. "Now the bad people are gonna take you away."

Nick and Judy were both backing off now.

"We've gotta get out of here." Nick said, looking around for any ways of escaping.

"Yeah. . . that would be a good idea." Judy replied anxiously. "The windows?"

"Genius Hopps strikes again."

The two raced across the room.

" _Judy and Nicholas_!" the strained voice came from downstairs again.

"Frozen over. This is why Tundra Town sucks." Nick said angrily. He started to slam his fists on the glass in any attempts to break it. Judy tried to help, though her small fists wouldn't do much. Slowly but surely, the window would be freed.

Creaking began to come up the stairs. Finally, the window's ice cracked off. Just as Nick was about to open it, there was a small snickering coming from behind them.

The two slowly looked back to see a familiar face in all of its glory.

"It's been a while." Trine flashed a horseish grin. Behind her were two more zebras, both holding a good grip around John and Marie's necks.

"Not long enough." Nick snarled at her.

"Oh. . . it's a shame that you feel like that, then." She smiled.

" _Don't hurt them_!" the eldest hollered from across the room.

"That's enough out of you, Sadie." John snapped warningly. Trine just let out another laugh.

"It was so, so nice that your. . . your father ratted you out. It makes my life a lot easier." She kept laughing, as though this were the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

"He's not my father." Nick hissed as though the words were venom. Trine's laughter finally stopped. Raising her eyebrow, she leaned forward.

"If you come willingly, I won't be forced to hurt you. I don't want to kill you. I need you alive, after all." Trine said pointedly as she glared at Judy, holding out one hoof. The fox and rabbit stared at it, but then at each other. There was no point in fighting it, Judy had figured. Any second now they'd probably be tasered if they did not comply.

Judy sighed.

"Okay, you got us. We'll-"

" _Not today_!" Nick suddenly grabbed onto Judy's waist, turning and with one perfect jump, leaped straight into the glass and out of the window. It made a deafening shriek as it shattered. Below them, though, an awning was there to block the fall.

Both of them were screaming despite this. They bounced off of it, landing in the snow below, breaking the entire fall as it consumed them.

A few moments later, Judy popped her head out of the snow, shaking it off of herself rapidly.

"Are you actually crazy?" Judy asked, glaring at the fox.

"I definitely knew that the awning was there. Totally." Nick said, sounding a little bit flustered.

Both of them looked up to see the zebra's head sticking out the window, smiling down at them.

"Slick, Nick! But all the predators in Zootopia want you two and only you two. They may not kill you, but they might just end up doing so anyways!"

Judy and Nick got to their feet, a little unsure of what that meant. But quickly they were enlightened as a couple of predators in the distance were seen, running straight at them.

"Alright. . . we've really got to go." Nick said.

Quickly the two began to run in the exact opposite direction of the oncoming predators.

The two were unable to even stop the predators, since their collar scanner was still in the shop with Nick's family. There was nothing they would be able to do if they got trapped.

The deep snow made it hard to run fast, while the big predators had little to no struggle. Judy looked back to see that they were so much closer, and that they'd made little progress.

"This is hopeless! What are we supposed to do against. . . _them_?" Judy asked, feeling a little winded. Nick glanced back a little worriedly.

"I have an idea."

"You don't sound very confident about it."

"Just trust me, alright?"

He reached back and grabbed Judy's wrist, helping her to move a little faster. They'd made a little more progress, but Judy was confused. Nick was heading right toward an alleyway, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly to see if the predators had caught up.

"Where are we going?" Judy asked. He stayed silent. She looked back as the tall buildings towered over them, the sun almost disappearing completely. The only way up was through a fire escape. But the ladder was locked up, and there was no way for them to get up there in time.

"Nick?" she looked up to him. He still had a hold on her wrist.

"Damn it, Carrots. . ." he said, laughing quietly. With one swift motion, he lifted her off of her feet, raising her over his head.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked. Then, before she could say anything else, he launched her into the air. Her shock kept her from screaming as she silently zipped through the air, landing right onto the fire escape in a crumpled pile.

" _Nicholas Wilde_!" she yelled as she stood up, running to the edge. "What's wrong with you?"

He just smiled up at her.

"You owe me big for this one, sweetheart."

"W-what're you saying?" she stammered. Then, it seemed to hit her like a wave. Her lungs felt breathless as she realized what he was doing. The whole time, he didn't have a plan to save himself. He just wanted to save her.

"Judy, just do me a favor and get out of here. Just leave Zootopia and live on. Is that clear?"

" _Quit talking like you're about to die_! _I'm coming down there_!"

" _No_! You're not coming down here! You're being stupid." Nick groaned. "To think that I could've just once trusted my family. . . just once. It's my fault that this is happening."

Judy gave him a bewildered look.

" _You're_ the one being stupid! Don't claim responsibility for this! It's my fault if anyone's!" she snapped down at him.

" _Listen_ , it doesn't matter now. Just get out of Zootopia. That's my final request to you. Do you promise me? I don't want you to die for no good reason." Nick asked desperately. Judy's icy paws clenched the metal harder. She just shook her head, looking away.

"I'm not leaving you!" she cried. "We're going to get out of this _together_! I'm not letting _you_ die for no good reason!"

"Judy. . ." Nick trailed off. "I-"

But it was cut short. Down the mouth of the alleyway came two tigers at full speed toward the fox. He turned around, flinching a little. Judy's eyes widened and everything seemed to pause for a moment while the scene processed in Judy's mind.

" _Nick_!" Judy yelled, but it wasn't like it mattered. She wanted to go down there in the worst of ways and save him, but she was defenseless against them. While the bigger grabbed Nick's body in his jaws and shook him, the other batted at his head as if it was a toy. Once she heard his screams, she pulled down on her ears, not wanting to hear them. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook violently.

She couldn't see him anymore, and that only made her stomach tighten up. Slowly she backed away, sinking to the cold floor of the fire escape. Her eyes looked up one last time in hopes that she might see him standing there talking to her again, that stupid smirk on his face after making one of his usual sarcastic comments. But the two tigers only ran off to who knows where with Nick still in their grasp.

The alleyway which had once been filled with yelps, roars and her own tears, had now succumbed to a deadly silence. Only the wind could be heard, blowing around snow that wasn't as nearly as cold as Judy felt.

For a while she stayed there curled up, hiding her face, trembling at the very thought of what could have possibly become of Nick. The iciness that filled her had quickly melted as the minutes ticked by, and her mind conjured up various pictures of Nick in her mind. Inside of her a deep, incredibly hot rage had been born just at the idea of him being ripped to shreds on her behalf.

She didn't know if he was alive or dead. But what she did know is that that damned zebra wasn't going to get away with it. She raised her head as the icy wind blew through her fur. It was all her fault, all her fault. Her sister, her parents, and now the one who she cared most about. With one paw she wiped her face clean, realizing what she had to do.

Nick would've been pissed at her for even thinking of what she planned to do. And for a moment, she considered maybe carrying out his final wish. Leaving Zootopia and the only world she ever knew behind, and going to the outskirts, of which barely anyone had knowledge of. Somehow managing to survive and live on, for him.

But for him, she knew what she really had to do. The zebra was calling her name. Her parents were calling her name. Her twin. Nick. She had to avenge them and take back Zootopia.

She wasn't going to just stand by and watch everything they'd worked for collapse around them!

Her fists were balled as she leaped off the side of the fire escape, landing in the deep snow below. There was no time to be slow now - she had to get to Trine.

Soon, she was back in the street. Her eyes were for that zebra, and for that zebra only. If she could foil her plans, that would be the only revenge Judy could ever wish for. This was Zootopia's final hope, and she was carrying it on her shoulders.

A few moments later, she found herself inside of the shop. She burst through the doors with a newfound energy flowing through her. She was ready to confront that zebra if it was the last thing she did, and force her to call her predators off of Nick. She opened her mouth to scream as loud as she could, her lungs still aching from the cold, but she instantly froze.

Instead of Trine's threatening demeanor standing in front of her, she was greeted with the familiar faces of four foxes. Nick's so-called family was standing right in front of her, all except for John. Judy's posture did not change or flinch. She remained tall and with her ears flattened back. Her mouth was curled back angrily. She wouldn't let _them_ get away with it either, absolutely not. They would _not-_

"Oh, Heavens to Betsy! Judy, you're okay!"

The rabbit's anger was suddenly suppressed as Marie swooped forward, enveloping Judy in a tight hug. She did not respond at first, but merely waited to be put back down. She looked up with a frown.

"Why do _you_ care?" she demanded.

"Listen to me, Judy. I-"

"Oh, I get it. You had nothing to do with it. It was all John. _That's_ what you'll tell me. _Right_?" Marie was a little taken aback by this, but quickly nodded. "Well, I'm sorry that I can't believe _you_. Since _you_ were stalling us, lying to us, told us _you'd_ make the scanner! How on Earth am I supposed to-"

Judy instantly cut herself off, feeling all the air leaving her lungs as her heart began to pound. Marie pulled out a small object, handing it to Judy. It looked like the scanner that they'd given her, but a little more hand-built looking. It wasn't smooth or clean like the police officer one, but it was there, and it worked, even if put together with scrap metal.

Judy blinked as she examined it in her paws.

"It can be used on any collar now. And. . . the other one was taken, or I'd give it back. I'm sorry. If I knew what he'd planned to do, I wouldn't have kept you guys here. But. . . but where is Nick? You were. . . gone for a long time."

Judy grasped the small scanner a little more tightly in her paws.

"He sacrificed himself to save me. As far as I know. . . he's gone."

All the foxes stared in horror, unsure of what to say. Judy scrunched up her eyes, not wanting to think about it. She opened them again, a serious look overcoming her face. "But I will not let her win. _Where_. . . where did she go?"

"She was talking about a room. _Room_. . ." Marie trailed off.

"Room 629!" butted in the small one.

"No, it was room 627." the middle child argued.

" _628_." The eldest confirmed.

Judy's eyes widened a little at this as she cradled the scanner closer. And suddenly, in the back of her mind, she recognized the number as a flashback played through her mind.

 _"But why?" Lucille wondered aloud after a while. "Who would do this?" she just shook her head, in disbelief that what she was reading was true. "I mean, listen to this: 'Day 394: I never realized April had a twin until today. To be honest, it threw me off, which is why I immediately attempted to kill her in that fire. Even if it cost us the factory, that's fine. Room #628 is still safe, after all. That's all that matters. You've gotta love secret rooms! But it's a real shame she got away. I was hoping I could get her out of my way now - but that stupid fox just had to be a hero.'"_

Judy stared at the ground, as if it had something to say to her. She trembled a little at her sudden knowledge that she knew where Trine had been plotting all along, without even realizing it. The factory. . . she had to go there. That was definitely where she was hiding.

She looked up as she slipped the scanner into her pocket, a new determination burning inside of her.

"I know where I have to go. I know how to fix all of this, once and for all."

"Judy, it's not safe out there. Let us help you." Marie offered.

" _No_!" Judy shouted, trying her best not to show that she was scared. "Please, let me do this myself. _I can't let anyone else die today_." Saying those words was the final straw for her. Her eyes immediately teared up, and she couldn't help but let out a hic as she collapsed onto her knees. "S-she took _everything_ from me! My sister, my parents. . . and now Nick!" she said, covering her face. "It's all my fault. S-so I've got to fix this myself! _I won't let anyone else be taken by her_!"

Judy's hic caught in her throat as she felt two paws resting on her shoulders. She looked up through blurry vision to see Marie smiling down at her. She'd gotten on her knees too.

"You loved him, didn't you?" she asked, a pitiful look on her face. Judy's eyes widened at this unexpected question. Slowly, she nodded, her face seizing up with more tears. "You've come so far, Judy. You're so brave. You have to push forward for him."

"I-I know I do." Judy somehow managed to regain control of her emotions as Marie got up. She disappeared into another room.

"We really are sorry." The smallest said.

"Dad just wanted the money. . . and we didn't want him to be mad at us." The middle-child added.

"But we didn't want you guys to be hurt." The eldest finished.

Judy just smiled a little, wiping away her tears.

"It's not your fault. You guys are kids. I'll. . . I promise, I'll try my hardest to fix this. So. . . I should be on my way-"

"Hold on a second, Judy."

It was Marie who came back, rushing over to her. She had a small knapsack in her paws, handing it to Judy. "It's not a lot, but it has some essentials. And, here." She wrapped a scarf which was a few times too big around Judy's neck. "We don't have any shoes for someone your size, I'm afraid. But take this."

"This. . . is enough. Thank you." Judy said gratefully, looking up at her. Marie just smiled as the kids gathered around her. Judy looked back to the door, taking in a deep breath. "I'm going to take back Zootopia. Even if Nick isn't with me. . . I know he'll be with me now."

Without another word, she headed out the door and back into the cold. But the cold felt like nothing compared to the fire she was feeling burning inside of her.

* * *

And here we are... nearing the very end of Freedom. I can't believe that after a year later, it's nearly done! Thank you all for the great response off of the last chapter! I appreciate it so much! You guys are fantastic, and I couldn't thank y'all enough for the support and kind words. By the way, thanks so much for 20,000 views! Never thought my story would get that much traffic.

The next update will be out soon, I promise.

REVIEWS;

 **Alucard15423:** It's not dying I swear! Thanks so much for keeping up and reading! :)

 **Guest #1:** Oh my gosh, this review honestly brought such a huge smile to my face. Haha, your review actually gave me a huge amount of motivation to write this chapter faster! Thank you soooo so much for saying such kind words.

 **Guest #2 & #3: **Thank you so so so much!

 **TortillaOverlord:** Thanks so much! I'm glad you've stuck around! :)

Till next time guys! I think an extra-long chapter may or may not be on the way... ;)


	20. Chapter 20 - Freedom

That number rang clear as a bell within the back of Judy's skull, haunting and taunting her. _628_. The rabbit had asked herself how she could've possibly been so dense, to not automatically know to go there.

She had kept a steady pace in order to get back to Downtown. That factory was screaming her name, and she would not ignore its call. She'd been in a dark spot in her mind the past few hours, thinking about what would and could happen. Would she fail? Would Nick truly be dead?

She had kept Nick in the back of her mind - she really couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of him being actually dead - as she drove through the streets. She'd managed to hijack a car, despite it being against the law. But in this new world, laws didn't exist, and she couldn't feel guilty about it.

Night had almost fallen when she reached the familiar town of the burned Collar Factory. Her heart skipped a few beats as she finally parked the car a block away. Her violet eyes focused on the building, which looked out of place with the bright and cheery buildings surrounding its dark aura.

She rummaged through her bag for a moment before she hesitated in shock, her ears standing straight up. Between the few snacks and scanner, she saw blackness. Carefully she reached inside, one soft paw running down the grip of the gun that Marie had swiped from John.

Her nose scrunched up in disdain, and she frowned. Had Marie assumed that Judy was ready to kill? She could never do such a thing.

Judy only took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she exited the vehicle, quietly closing the door behind her. She wanted to get rid of the problem alright, but not like that. Not with the ways of murder.

She appreciated Marie's concern. But she knew deep down she hadn't come to kill. At least, that's what she hoped wouldn't have to resort to. So she supposed. . . maybe after all, she would kill if she had to at this point.

Judy walked, her feet feeling heavy with every step as she approached the deserted factory. She knew she would have to find the room, but she wasn't sure how to. So instead, she started with what she knew. Going around the secretive side entrance, she found the cracked window which had helped her to survive the deadly fumes of the fire alongside Nick.

She looked down at it and its pitch blackness which dared to consume her. It was waiting for her. It yearned for her to come back inside after she'd almost died there.

Last time it had been easy to come back because she had Nick with her, but this time she was alone. The name brought back her grief.

"No." She said aloud to no one, her paws balling, pushing away her anxiety and sadness. "Not now. What would he say right now? He'd say I'm acting stupid, surely." She slipped the knapsack off of her as she attempted to reassure herself mentally, turning to reach inside and grab the scanner. She slipped it into her pocket as she grabbed her flashlight with her free paw quickly. Judy had fully convinced herself she was going to go in there. There was no turning back now.

Nick's words rang inside of her head. _Just leave Zootopia and live on._

She could go to the outskirts of Zootopia, sure. She could go there and never come back. Leave everything behind and all the memories. Try and start a life somewhere else. And everyone would assume she was dead. Have the faces of her loved ones haunt her for all eternity for abandoning them.

But she would never do that, especially not now. Everyone needed her. She hesitated once more and glanced back at the knapsack. She quickly reached inside and tore the gun out. The bunny examined it with hesitation, but knew it could come in handy, sticking it in her other pocket.

She took in a breath of fresh air before crouching down and slipping through the broken window.

She managed to swiftly land on her feet in the darkness. A little bit of sunlight peered through, but it had nearly gone. Judy coughed, the charred walls greeting her with ashes and dust. She clicked on her flashlight, looking around the room.

The room had been stripped bare, nothing had remained now. She felt uncomfortable about this. The only thing that was left were the stairs to the first floor.

She remembered that staircase and how it had saved their lives as she walked up it, feeling ashes crumble beneath her feet with every step. The only thing her sensitive ears could pick up were her own movements.

She shined her light all around, the darkness overwhelming her. Was the room on the first, second or third floor? Instantly, she felt frustration take over. How could she get to Trine now without even knowing her location? She shined the light all over, trying to find any hints.

But that's when she heard it. It echoed throughout the entire factory. A blood-curdling scream of agony. Her ears flicked, her heart rising into her throat. She recognized that voice from anywhere.

"Nick?" she whispered to herself, her pupils becoming small in the darkness as her fear swallowed her whole. Despite her fright, she raced toward the sudden yelling coming from seemingly anywhere. There were other voices, too. But these ones weren't pained. She couldn't make them out at all.

It was a bit overwhelming for her, and quickly her paws turned shaky. She continued to follow the screams.

She paused, looking up. Her light shone upon the fallen bridge which had nearly took her own life as well as Nick's.

The yells were coming from the second floor. She knew that for sure.

Quickly, she shoved the flashlight between her teeth, jumping onto the bottom of the bridge. With newfound energy she raced up it, pulling herself up by the holes in the grating. She felt her anger continue to rise up and motivate her to keep going.

There was no doubt about it - she was horrified, terrified of what she might find in that room. Her courage had almost fleeted from her entirely, but hope and rage pushed her to keep her going. She climbed faster and faster. The yelling became more clear. Another scream would last for a few moments, and then it would end. Repeat this, over and over. Her ears flattened to her head, her heart only pounding twice as harder because of this. She could hardly take it anymore as she finally reached the top of the unstable building's second floor.

Judy raced, hearing the ruckus come from a narrow hallway. She ran down it, kicking up old ashes and dust as she went. Then, in the distance, she could see a light peering from underneath a door.

Judy raised her flashlight up against the door.

628 was clearly imprinted on the front.

Judy shut off her flashlight and threw it aside as she quietly, slowly but surely opened the door. Her eyes widened almost immediately at what she was seeing.

This room was the only undamaged room in the whole building. The building was entirely screwed, but this room somehow managed to have power. They must've planned for a while to have a backup generator once the building fluke happened.

The room was lined with cells filled with animals she knew very well. Her eyes widened.

There were two animals she never expected to see again grasped onto the bars, shouting at the other side of the room. Her parents.

Her heart fluttered as she pressed a paw to her mouth, and tears swelled up in her eyes as she realized they were still alive. Badly bandaged up and looking wounded, but alive. She held back her tears as she took in the rest of the cells. Clawhauser was trapped in a cell, but was still on the syrum - making animalistic noises and eyes wild. Judy glanced in shock to see on the other side of the room, there was Seth, Lucille, Finnick and Gideon. She felt confusion wash over her. Why did she have them? Had they gotten captured? And how had the others escaped? She knew the youngers were good at hiding, and quickly realized they'd probably lied for the two hundred other siblings. She put her attention went back to the rest of the room.

There was a huge machine, and when she said huge, she meant huge. It was so noisy she wasn't sure how she couldn't have heard it when she was outside. There were clear tubes that were filled with red liquid transferring into the massive machine. She knew what that was. It was blood.

She followed the tubes to a sight which horrified her. Her sister was all tied up, quite literally. She was locked into a chair, her paws and ankles tied back. The machine was taking her blood, but at a very fast rate. She was struggling to break free of her binds. Couldn't that damn zebra see that? Was she TRYING to kill her? Eventually, she'd run out of blood and the gig would be over.

And in the middle of the floor was a ravenous tiger. She recognized it from when. . . _Nick_. . .

Her thoughts derailed as she caught sight of Nick. The tiger was batting him around as though he were a play thing, throwing him across the floor and the like. The machine was right behind Trine. Trine stood up on a platform, her hoof pressing down onto what Judy assumed to be a control panel, a smile on her face. Every time she pressed it, Nick's collar would trigger and electrocute him. Any time the tiger didn't have him stuck in its jaws, she would do this same motion over and over again. She was thankful he was alive, but how much longer would that last at this rate?

Judy felt her heart collapsing. She wanted to cry out and scream to him, but her voice failed as she choked on her anxiety. The others were already doing it for her, begging Trine to hold the tiger off and to stop.

"Alright, alright!" Trine shouted. "That's enough. We can't have him dying yet." She pressed a couple of other buttons on the panel. The tiger seemed to freeze up as he went to scoop Nick in his jaws again. He turned, running right toward the door to leave instead.

Judy's eyes widened as she quickly leaped from the way, tumbling against the charred ground, breathing heavily. The tiger slammed through the doors as she did this, growling and hissing as it disappeared into the darkness. She got up shakily, heading over to the swinging doors and peering in once more.

Nick didn't look like he was moving. He didn't even look like he was breathing.

"I've got to give it to you, Nicholas. You made it very far." Trine said, leaning against the edge of the platform's handlebar. She looked down at her buttons dauntingly, then back toward Nick. "But you just couldn't make it far enough."

Judy begged for Nick to get up and spit a retort at her, but he still stayed down.

"Shut up!" Lucille yelled from her position. "Haven't you done enough already, you coward?"

"Coward? _Coward_?" Trine asked, laughing wildly. "I'm not a coward. I've done what I came here to do, and now I'll make it even bigger and better! I'll enslave all of you useless nobody preys with a new serum if I have to. I don't have to put up with your smart-alec comments!"

"This is insanity! Just let us all go!" Stu tried to reason.

"They'll both die if you continue with this!" Seth pointed out.

"Oh, all I hear is a bunch of babies crying." Trine sneered.

The only thing between the door and Judy were a couple of Trine's goonies, who were all blocking her way. But she couldn't let this stop her. She had to take a risk.

Judy managed to slip inside the crack in the door, dashing through. They didn't notice the small rabbit as they stayed in place. She was pressed back against the wall, standing in their shadows. She looked up, seeing that none of them had moved or noticed. Her heart fluttered as she turned and took off.

She dove behind a stack of boxes in the corner of the room, her nose twitching in fear. She had to reach that machine, which was on the other side of the room. . . she had to make it stop somehow, lest she wanted her sister to live much longer. So she crept quietly and slowly behind anything she could find.

The room was pristine looking - the walls were white, as was the ceiling and tiled floor. It was as if the place were an insane asylum, and at this rate, that's what it would surely become. Chains hung from the ceiling, some having boxes hanging from them - most likely containing more parts for the machine. But there was a bunch of mechanical stuff - pipes, wires, and the like scattered all over which made it easier for the rabbit to sneak by.

"J-Judy?"

She was startled out of her concentration to hear Lucille's whisper, suppressing a cry of shock. She turned, seeing the four in the cell glancing at her.

"Are you guys alright?" Judy asked.

"Yes." Lucille went on in a hushed voice. "Listen, there's no time. She's got a control panel - it's up there, where she is. You'd have to get past her to get to it." She glanced at Trine.

"I can break you all out and stop the machine that way?" she asked her sister.

"Maybe. That's our best shot. You've gotta do something and fast, Judy. They don't have much time left."

Judy glanced to see Nick still motionless on the ground, but breathing heavily. She felt a little relief swamp her.

"Okay." She nodded quickly and dashed out of her cover. No one saw her still as she made her way behind Trine, sneaking right next to the machine. She pressed her back to it, shaking. The four in the cell who had noticed her had kept their eyes on her, switching back and forth to try and not bring attention to her.

The small grated platform that Trine was standing on was attached to the machine, raised off of the ground. The machine itself was massive, towering over her. Judy took in a deep breath as she leaped up onto the side of it.

It was bronze in color, vibrating beneath her as she somehow managed to climb over the side of it. Still, no one threatening had caught sign of her.

Stealthily she managed to reach the top. Most of the machine was exposed up here, cog gears popping out of the top of it.

"You really are crazy." She heard a weak voice say. It came from Nick, who now raised his head up. The zebra only scoffed, looking down again.

"I'm sorry that you'll never understand the lengths I'll go to to carry out my father's wish." Trine called down to him, snapping. Judy managed to stand up, walking over to the open cogs and gears of the machine. It shook beneath her feet, threatening to send her falling off the side at any moment, or even into the gears, which would crush and kill her.

An idea popped into her head as she reached into her pocket.

"Maybe I shouldn't say that word around you, since you don't have a father. Oh. . . I just said it again! Oops!" Trine laughed down at Nick. With one hoof she reached forward to electrocute him once more.

A gun fire silenced everything in the room.

"Hey!"

Judy suddenly yelled out, her one bullet having pierced the ceiling. All attention was now on her.

"Judy!" she heard her mother's voice. Trine paused, looking up. Judy was holding the gun from her knapsack in her paws, aiming at Trine, shaking. The zebra smirked.

"What're you waiting for? _Do it_. You won't."

Judy gritted her teeth at this taunt. The rabbit thought about it for a moment, shaking a bit less. But she straightened up, puffing out her chest. Instead of shooting her, she threw the gun right into the machine, her purple eyes still glued onto Zootopia's tormentor.

Trine's eyes widened at this action. " _You little_. . !" she trailed off, rage in her eyes. "What are you all doing? _Get her_! And _you_ , I want _you_ to get this fox out of my sight!" she screamed at her goons, who had been looking on. Quickly the majority ran for the staircase, another running for Nick.

"Wait, _stop_! Don't hurt her!" she heard Lucille yelling. A commotion had started up in the cells once more as Trine ignored them.

Judy had managed to create a literal monkey wrench as the machine slowly creaked to a stop, and the gears began to go back and forth rapidly, trying to unlock as they became more and more stuck. She took this opportunity to race across the top, sliding down and off the side to another platform where April had been tied up.

"April!" she screamed, nearly tripping as she raced over. She was stuck up with needles, tubes connecting to her limbs. In a panic, Judy pulled all of them out quickly, frantic. April somehow managed to raise her head, looking up at her sister.

"Judy. . ?" she asked.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay now." She said, feeling uncertainty creep up on her as she untied her sister. The other rabbit only fell forward, but Judy was there to catch her. She laid her down against the bottom of the platform.

"Judy. . ." April tried.

"We can talk later, once this is all sorted out." Judy said, grasping her paw. April only closed her eyes, nodding weakly. Judy stood back up, turning around. Her top priority right then and there was getting Nick out of the situation he'd gotten himself into. The machine, which was still malfunctioning, shook the whole room with its violent convulsions. It knocked Judy onto her knees as she grabbed onto the guardrail to keep herself steady. She still had a fight to pick.

Coming her way was a stampede of four zebras. She crouched down, feeling her adrenaline rush through her ears. In the back of her head, she'd kept her police training in mind. She had to learn to be efficient in order to make it through to the police force.

Judy quickly looked for anything that she could use to her advantage. She glanced down at the tubes which were scattered along the ground.

She picked one up, running toward her attackers. They might've been bigger than her, but she'd use that to her advantage now. Judy raced next to the guardrail, wrapping the tube around it as she ran across to the opposite side, pulling as tightly as she could with her paw. The zebras, unable to stop in time, were easily tripped up by this.

Judy hadn't gotten that far yet, not expecting it to actually work. As they continued to fall on top of each other, she pulled on another of the tubes she was now holding in her other paw, leaping up to wrap it around their ankles. As she tied it around the guardrail, pulling as tightly as she possibly could, it pulled their hooves together closely, and they found themselves unable to get up, each one crushing the other and preventing them from being able to get up.

Judy stood on one of their backs, making sure they really couldn't get back up. She didn't need them troubling her any longer. They were all arguing with each other about not being able to move, so this satisfied her as she leaped off, hopping onto the guardrail.

She looked down and felt a gasp rise out of her chest as she saw Nick being scooped up by the last goon, although putting up a bit of a struggle. Judy grit her teeth, a frown coming over her face. She glanced to see one of the many stray chains which were hanging around the room not far from her and knew that this would be the only way to go. Without barely even thinking about it, she jumped from where she stood, feeling a scream come out of her as she approached the ground. But this scream quickly turned into one of rage instead of fear as her paws grabbed onto metal, now swinging right toward the zebra who had Nick. He turned just in time to see Judy, but it was too late. Judy jabbed her feet right into his jaw, the force of the small rabbit sending him wobbling off balance and landing on the floor a few feet away, dropping Nick onto the ground.

Judy ended up landing right onto her feet, breathing hard.

" _Don't_ touch him again!" she yelled at the zebra, who was still out of it. Quickly, she turned her attention to Nick, running over to him. "Nick? A-are you-"

But her question was cut short as before she could touch him, she heard a very, very familiar beep come from his collar. Her pupils became very tiny as he was shocked for the longest five seconds she'd ever had to endure before he fell limp again.

Judy turned her eyes up toward Trine, who was looking down at her. Taunting her to come meet her with her eyes.

"C-Carrots?" Nick stammered, sounding raspy.

"Hang in there, okay? I'm going to end this. Once and for all."

Dust fell off the ceiling as the building continued to shake, and then, it came to a temporary halt.

She didn't wait for a response from him as she bolted up the staircase, the grating sending a rush of cold through her body, which her adrenaline had heated.

"Judy, Judy, _Judy_! I'm _so_ glad to see you." Trine said in her per usual sarcastic tone. "You shouldn't have made it this far. I'm a bit upset that you're trying to stop me right now."

"What are you getting out of this?" Judy demanded from where she stood. The zebra was in her way of the control panel, and Judy wasn't about to let her win.

"I've got to live up to the family name, Hopps. I can't just let this die."

"But look at what you're doing! Please, if you really do care. . . _please_." Judy pleaded. The zebra looked down at her hesitantly.

"I _cannot_ let my father's work go out the window for no reason!" she said, expression hardening to anger, quickly running at Judy. She wasn't expecting that. She turned, hopping back onto the guardrail and glancing back. Trine had paused in her running and had begun to look around for a moment before wrapping her hoof around a small pipe, ripping it from the wall as a grin passed over her face.

"Oh, cheese and crackers." Judy whispered to herself. The zebra still followed after her, swinging down toward her. Judy kept leaping from the platform's guardrails. When one swing from the pipe got a little too close for comfort, she turned and raised her paws angrily. "Look! You _don't_ have to do this, _okay_?" She said, leaping away again. "We can reverse it all right now and it'll be okay. Your father wouldn't have wanted this! Would he _really_?"

This made the zebra pause. Then, a rage lit up her eyes.

"How would you know what he did and didn't want? He spent the rest of his life on this project, having a desire for enslaving all the predators! Of course he wanted this! He _died_ for this!"

"You destroyed my sister's life because or your father's little project!" Judy snapped back, feeling the same level of fury.

"You hated predators, Judy, for _so_ long. This is your chance!" she cried, swinging down as Judy leapt out of the way once again. "Why not leave this world enslaved and join me and rule over these lands with all the power you could possibly ask for?"

She had swung down again, but Judy met her force, pressing back up against the pipe.

" _Because_ I don't hate predators anymore!" she answered confidently. "They're just like _us_! There's no difference besides that they're the ones wearing _collars_!"

" _No_!" Trine shouted at her. "There's a huge difference!"

"What? What's the difference?" Judy asked bewilderedly as she kept fighting against the pipe that pressed into her paws so deeply that it began to hurt them.

"The predators that you _love_ so much are murderers!" she yelled as the platform began shaking again, the machine beginning to create an angry hiss. "They killed my parents! I will not forgive them or their disgusting actions!"

"Trine, _please_!" Judy begged. "I know you're hurt. I know what it feels like to lose family members!" Trine looked her in her eyes, her jaw slackened a little. "But that doesn't mean we can just stereotype the rest! There's bad in _all_ of us! You can't let it influence you!"

The zebra seemed to consider this for a moment. The two stared at each other, and she even began to let up, pulling the pipe away a moment later. She seemed to look a bit lost in thought. But a moment later, she raised the pipe for what felt like the billionth time, Judy only being able to react just barely.

"Ignorant!" Trine shouted, shoving the pipe toward her harder. "You're blinded by that fox down there! Do you think he's truly good? What if he were to kill you?"

"He's not like that! Not at all!" Judy hollered back, unable to hide her rage, shoving the pipe right back and away from herself. "I _know_ he wouldn't kill me! I trust him with my own life! Had he wanted to, he could've done it a million times! He's had enough chances to." The platform below them began to creak a little.

"I thought you were smarter, Judy. But you're not. You're just like the rest of them!" she reached one hoof toward the control panel and hovering over a blue button, threatening to electrocute Nick once again from where she stood. "If he would finally just die, then maybe you'd be able to see the light. It's not like he has much longer anyhow."

" _I won't let that happen_!" Judy screamed, lunging at her. She managed to swipe her hoof away from the control panel just in time with a free paw. The rabbit dug her powerful feet into the zebra's shoulder, bouncing off of her and landing back on the guardrail, nearly toppling over. But she wasn't done yet. She kicked off of it once again, and with her free paw snatched the small, heavy pipe from Trine's grasp as Judy found her feet stuck themselves right into the zebra's throat.

The force of this knocked Trine back as she gasped and spluttered while Judy leaped back through the air and landed behind her.

Now that Judy managed to get past her, she was running toward the control panel which was just out of reach. She went to jump, but her foot was apprehended, and she ended up slamming onto the grating with a loud crash. Trine dragged her back and lifted her up by her one foot, hanging her upside down. This whole time she'd heard the yells and concern from the others; though she hadn't been able to pay any attention to that.

"This is your _last_ chance, Judy! This is my last offer to you. I thought I could save that fox, but he's just as bad as you are now! Let that pathetic whelp leave this world behind and join me and your sister. _Together_ , we'll make Zootopia a better place. I assure you of that. Just us three."

The platform creaked and shuddered beneath them. Judy stared with wide eyes at her. She turned her head to look back at Nick and the cells. Everyone she cared about was there. They were all listening intently, but no one spoke a word now. Nick raised his head, looking up expectantly.

Slowly, she looked back at Trine. The zebra was waiting, waiting for an answer. And the rabbit would provide it. Judy's wide eyes contorted into a frown.

" _Absolutely not_!"

With that, she took the pipe in both paws and swung forward, slamming it into the zebra's skull. She let out a shrill scream of shock, instantly dropping Judy on her back and faltering away, collapsing against the end of the platform. She tried to get back up for more, but was held back. She violently tried to swipe at the rabbit, who had sat up and backed away, pressing against the control panel. Judy stared in shock. Trine's hoof was stuck in the grating.

 _Just like last time,_ the rabbit thought in a bit of relief. Judy breathed uneasily, dropping her pipe and turning toward the control panel. She leaped up on top of it. There were quite a few buttons, but one she recognized that Trine had pressed before - way back when, after Judy had almost been put to sleep.

The big, red button that Trine had pressed to inject everyone's collars with the mind-controlling liquid. This would be it. This would reverse all the damage that Trine had done, if only a little.

Could it be this easy? Is this really happening? Will this torture end here?

She reached forward, being able to take the button out of its slot in the control panel. It stared at her dauntingly. But she shut her eyes, pressing down onto it. She opened one eye.

She glanced to the cell with Clawhauser. He seemed to finally be coming out of his trance, shaking his head in confusion and looking around. Judy breathed happily in relief, a laugh swelling up inside of her chest.

"Fluff!" she heard a small voice call from down below. She looked down off the edge to see Nick looking up at her, a smile on his face. "You did it."

"I did it! No, we did it, Nick! _We_ -"

The shout was cut short by a loud gunshot. Judy's voice caught in her throat the second she felt the strongest, fiery pain penetrating her. The smile instantly dropped off of Nick's face.

"No!" April cried from where she had now managed to sit up.

Judy couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe or concentrate on voices which called to her. She finally looked down, seeing a gaping hole in her skin and shirt. Slowly, her paws which had been raised over her head in victory fell to her sides, and the button slipped from her grasp, making a clang on the grating as it fell off and hit the ground below. Crimson liquid boiled up in her throat, starting to spill from her slackened mouth.

Slowly, her head turned. Trine had been carrying a gun, which she had been holding now. A bit of smoke rose from the top of it. Of course. How could Judy have been so dumb to turn her back? How could she think it would've been over and done like that?

"Judy!" Nick screamed up at her, but she couldn't process it. It had not only been one gunshot, but two. One in her torso, and the other in her leg. Judy looked back forward, feeling her vision getting dodgy. She trembled violently, feeling her eyes water from the pain.

"You stupid rabbit. You thought you could stop me like that? Once you're dead, I'll have all my control back. Fool!" she spat.

Judy felt her stomach twisting at those words. Her body feeling entirely numbed by pain, she simply fell off of the side of the raised platform, collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud. This only made her wounds hurt worse than they already did. All the air had left her chest as she stared up at the ceiling, her shock still paralyzing her.

 _I thought it would be over. I thought that everything would be normal again. How could I have been so stupid?_ She thought, feeling despair wash over her like an icy wave.

Her own blood began to choke her as she gasped for breath, coughing violently.

"Judy, Judy! Oh, God!" she'd never heard Nick so frantic before as she felt a familiar paw lifting the back of her head up. She slowly managed to turn her eyes to look at him before coughing again. Nick looked to be in terrible shape himself. Some of his fur was scorched and his voice was raspy. His green eyes examined her up and down.

She felt some comfort as he ran a paw down the side of her face.

"You'd almost done it, Judy. We're gonna get out of here, and we'll try again if we have to. So you can't do this - not now! I promised you that you were going to be innocent, and that you were gonna be a cop again. But you can't die on me now, when we're so close!" Nick begged. "I can't have this happen. Not again!"

She raised up a paw silently to his collar, which was a dark, orange color. And then, she remembered something. She prayed it wasn't broken as she feebly reached into her pocket, pulling out the refined collar scanner. It looked to be in good condition despite the fall that nearly crushed it. She sighed in relief.

Nick was frozen as she shakily reached up, pressing it against his collar. His eyes looked down at her, but he was speechless.

"This is what you wanted. Freedom." She said in a hoarse voice, smiling as the collar made a click and unlocked. Nick looked down in pure surprise as the collar fell off of him, clattering to the ground beside him.

He felt around his neck. A look of relief washed over him, but it didn't last very long as he put his attention back to Judy. She cupped the side of his face with one paw.

" _Finally_. That's so much better." She said, smiling. Nick had grabbed onto her paw, not wanting to let her go as he pulled her into his lap.

"Judy. . ." Nick said softly, looking down at her with tired eyes. "You can't give up now. Not with everything just beginning."

"With what beginning?" she asked him, trying her best not to sound shaky.

"Our life. A life together. As changed animals. You can't dare to leave me alone now, after all of this. You might be just a dumb bunny, but you're _my_ dumb bunny. We still have to. . . have to save everyone." Nick said. A grin passed over Judy's face.

"I never thought I'd say this to a predator, but Nick. . ." she trailed off, still a little hesitant even now. "I love you." The fox's eyes widened a little, before he smiled.

"I love you, too." Nick said, grasping onto her paw harder. "That's why you can't leave me. I can't be without my partner in crime."

Her violet eyes searched his face in surprise, a look of happiness overcoming her tired face. Somehow, she managed a laugh. He looked at her, some confusion trickling into his expression. She reached up to his face, but he still said nothing.

"It's about time you said something to me." She said.

A moment later she pulled his face to hers, locking them into a kiss. It didn't last long, but to Judy it felt much longer. Her paws fell back down to her sides as she pulled away a few seconds later.

Despite everything, she felt her cheeks grow warm. He only smiled.

But the atmosphere between the two was broken as a deafening creak interrupted them. Nick somehow made it to his paws, carrying a limp Judy away from the huge, blood-filled machine as fast as he could. The floor rattled and the machine huffed and puffed, springs and cogs flying out of the open top. The gun had done its damage.

"No! _No_!" Trine screamed. She tried to get up, but her hoof was still stuck in the grating. She struggled to get up, trying to find a grip on anything, even the groaning machine. "There's _no_ way! _No way this happening_!"

The burned up building finally began to give way. The fox and rabbit watched as the whole machine fell straight through the weakened floor from below, taking the platforms down with it. April had managed to escape, jumping off just in time and landing on the floor ungracefully. Trine and the machine went down, down, down, straight through the tiled ground. It made a deafening shriek as the whole thing crumbled away and disappeared. The control panel fell off the side of the platform, falling to the ground where Nick and Judy had previously been. It shattered into thousands of pieces - the only way to fully activating the mind control had been cut off, at least temporarily. Smoke rose up, as did dust and ashes from the previous fire. The rabbit and fox only stared on in shock.

"It's over." Judy said in surprise.

"You did it, Judy!" Nick said in excitement. There were some cheers coming from the cells, but they all blended in with each other within Judy's ears.

She just couldn't focus anymore. Her mind felt like it was slipping away. And she felt so, so relentlessly tired. She just wanted to sleep.

"Judy. Judy, you gotta stay with me a little longer." Nick pleaded with her. "You can't leave me all alone. Not after this." He went on in a hushed voice, "Not after everything we've been through."

But she didn't respond. Her eyes only started to shut.

She could still hear him yelling, and he was shaking her. But she couldn't move. It all sounded echoey, which annoyed her. But that quickly stopped. Her mind slipped away into a dark, dreamless sleep as her wounds finally got the better of her.

* * *

...

WOW this chapter took like forever to get out! I had to do a lot of editing and stuff to make it as good as I thought I could! This is the longest chapter by far that I've written, I'm really happy with it! Now, I know this alsoooo totally seems like the last chapter, but it's not, I swear. There'll be another... ;) maybe even two more if y'all want that.

I am so thankful for all of you! I hope to get a few reviews on this chapter... I've already started on the next chapter actually haha. But yeah! Let me know what you think! Reviews are my favorite thing to see after I post a chapter and it really motivates me to keep going! So could we lowkey maybe get 5 on this chapter? :)

I'll see you guys again soon! Thanks for reading!

Reviews;

 **Korrasami 88:** Totally get where you're coming from! Thing is, I'm still following what Zootopia says. In the movie, otters were listed under predators, so that's why they're also considered predators in this fic! :)

 **Robert Escher:** Hopefully this chapter will make yo happy then? :P A little? (or... maybe she's not dead! dun dun duuun...)

 **lone Wonderer 1:** Thanks so much for your reviews! :D So glad you're enjoying it!

 **Guest:** Yeah, might've been a bit predictable there huh? :P Thanks so much for reading!

 **Rose** **:** I can see where you're coming from! It's kinda hard for me to write in full character. I tried to go a little OOC at times though haha, I didn't want to completely copy Zootopia and all. Thanks so much also!


	21. (Author's Update)

Hi guys.

This is going to be kind of short and sweet. The next chapter should've been out by now, and I'm really really sorry for the delay, but recently a lot has been going on. I just started as a freshman in college three weeks ago which is a bit exciting. So, I've been occupied with that.

The other thing is that, in approximately twenty-four hours, I'm about to be hit with Hurricane Irma. I'm terrified to say the least. I feel like the earth is just rebelling against humanity for all the bad we've done to it. This monster storm is headed right in my direction. I had no time to evacuate because it was supposed to go _east_. (Hint hint, I'm in the west) I would have put out a chapter sooner, but they were rationing water in my area and I had to search a few days for supplies... so that sucks.

And well, to put it lightly, I'm pretty screwed. I'm not sure when the next update is coming but I hope it's understandable that I'm going to be in the middle of a monster storm very very soon. I'm honestly worried about not making it out. But yeah... I won't go so negative.

Again, I apologize for the delay. If everything turns out okay, the next chapter will be coming soon! I might give a second update after this but no one on here probably cares about my existence LOL you guys just want chapters. And I totally get it. I appreciate the patience I've gotten from you guys. Thanks for so many views! (Literally 27,000. THAT'S INSANE!)

See you guys on the other side of the storm! (Hopefully...)


	22. (Author's Update 2)

Okay, so, I'm horrible.

I've left this story hanging for so long, and you readers hanging for so long, that it's almost unforgivable. I feel terrible about this. Procrastination, writer's block and college have basically absorbed my life right now. But I promised I'd finish this story.

Basically what I'm planning on doing is releasing one mega chapter that will entirely cover the ending of the story. This may be subject to change because when I'm in the mood of writing basically anything can happen. I have it all planned out, though, so I think that one big chapter might be in order. My mindset six months ago was to make it three or four more chapters, but... I've put off the ending long enough I'd say.

It's a quarter way done in its current state and I just don't want people thinking I'm dead or anything - Irma knocked out my wifi for a little while and then college took me into the void because we got so far behind. Seriously, college was cancelled for a _week_. That's pretty nuts.

I've gotten into some new fandoms along the way too which doesn't really help because I want to write about those now. I might post some content on those but I don't know... I wouldn't do that until Freedom is completed anyways.

Sooo, if anyone still is interested in reading the ending of this - I just wanna say sorry for my lack of updating especially after Irma. I hope all of you are doing well and that life has been treating you good.

The last chapter should come out soon, I'm hoping this month. Sorry again! Let me know if anyone's even interested to hear the ending to be honest; wouldn't blame you guys for leaving in all honesty, I'm terrible at keeping up with this.

Sincerely,

everythingwasblue


	23. Chapter 21 - Hope

_Beep. ... Beep. ... Beep._

Other than that, there was a calming silence in Judy's mind. She felt funny, almost unlike herself, and really tired. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, revealing a blurry white ceiling to her. She wasn't so sure of where she was, but she really, really did not feel like moving. The aching in her muscles made that clear. It was actually pretty difficult to move or concentrate.

What had she been doing last? Where was everyone now? Wasn't. . . wasn't there something her and someone else had to do?

She laid quietly for what seemed like hours before she could start to move a little. That beeping was getting on her nerves, too, and she wanted to know where it was coming from. Weakly she pulled up one paw toward her, although it was in a very flimsy and uncoordinated manner, her eyes catching sight of the many IVs that were deep in her skin as her vision began to slowly unblur.

An oxygen mask was also on her face, but she wasn't quite sure why. She shakily reached up to touch it and clumsily ripped it off, then moved her eyes around a little more. Slowly but surely she was coming back from her sleep.

Her eyes turned, seeing a small table next to her. She strained her still slightly blurry vision to see some balloons, a few flowers and some cards lined up on the table next to her.

Suddenly, her eyes widened fully. Like an explosion, it all quickly came flowing back into her brain. She quickly felt relief that she hadn't forgotten.

Moving her weakened muscles as fast as she could, struggling and barely being able to grasp onto it, she pulled the blanket off of her. There was still a small wrap around her waist where she remembered there was once intense pain from a bullet wound. She reached down and touched it expecting to maybe feel that pain once more. It was still there, but not as much now. She couldn't move her leg very well either, and that made her feel a little jittery inside.

Judy had no idea where she was right now but she didn't really like it. Although she felt safe, she needed to see someone to make sure things were truly okay. She could only remember passing out after everything had gone to hell.

It was like she'd forgotten she could use her voice. She opened her mouth to call out for anybody, but instantly hesitated. If this was a dangerous situation like it was still, she could be killed if she was loud enough. . . but could it really be like that still? Hadn't she fixed everything?

Judy froze as she heard footsteps in the near distance. But no one seemed to notice that she was awake. She quickly became frustrated, and needed to get attention. Her eyes flitted down to focus on the IVs in her arm. This was her moment to truly tell if this was a dream or reality.

She knew she wasn't supposed to do what she was about to do, but she had to know the truth. With one manageable grasp, she ripped the IVs straight out of her forearm, the machine that was beeping periodically a moment ago instantly flat-lining. Judy waited as she let the IVs swing away from her.

Now she could hear it - running in the distance, feet pattering against the ground frantically. Was it a mind-controlled predator trying to get to her faster than the others?

"Sir, you're not supposed to be running!" there was a very distant, unrecognizable voice, reprimanding someone. Judy, at the hearing of that voice, was suddenly very convinced that everything she was seeing and hearing was real, and that a predator might not be coming to kill her right now. She tensed up as the feet got closer and finally, through the open doorway burst in a blur of red, pausing there.

Judy felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw Nick standing there, relief washing over her like a wave. Neither of them spoke. Judy could see now that this was real. Though he wore a jacket, she could still see the bandages wrapped around his head, neck and whatever of his body that was exposed. There was a slice in his ear, most likely resulting from the tiger incident. But he was there, and he was alive, and that's all that Judy could think about.

"Judy!" Nick cried, a smile coming over his previously terrified expression. He raced over to her side. She could hardly react as she was pulled into a tight hug. She managed to hug back, not wanting to let go.

"I'm sorry. . . did I make you think I actually flat-lined?"

"Yes! You dumb bunny!" Nick said, holding her harder. His warmth comforted her, but she still was tense.

"Is it over?" she asked quietly. "Is it really over?"

"Yes. It's over now." Nick reassured her. "Never, ever, ever do that again, do you hear me? Do you know how close you were to dying?"

"Don't get shot? How was I supposed to prevent that?"

"I don't know, but I never want to see you on death's door again, Fluff." Judy only smiled at him as they parted from the hug. "You just wait til everyone hears. You don't even know the half of it, do you?" Judy shook her head again. Nick seemed conflicted to talk after that. "I'm pretty sure the hospital staff might be thinking you flat-lined right now. Give me a minute."

He left the room, leaving Judy alone in her thoughts. She managed to sit up fully, every part of her body aching. She put one paw up against the side of her head, glancing out at the window.

Judy could now hear distant cars driving to and fro back on the road, as if nothing had ever happened, like things were always normal. It almost didn't seem real to her, even if she knew it was. She glanced back to the doorway as Nick came back. He wasn't alone, though. There was a doctor with him now.

The doctor quickly informed her of how she'd really almost died from her blood loss. Judy was also surprised to hear that she'd been in a coma for a week. That was all he'd had to say, though, and that made her feel a bit better. The doctor only looked to Nick and then left the room silently, closing the door behind him, not before shutting off the disconnected heart monitor once seeing Judy was stable.

"A week. . ." Judy repeated in shock.

"Yeah." Nick said anxiously.

"But how did I. . ." Judy looked up at him uneasily from where he sat on the edge of the bed. "How did I make it?"

"Don't freak out." Nick said quickly. Judy tensed up a little. "Well. . . since your sister and you are the only ones who share the same blood type. . ." he trailed off when her eyes widened.

"Hold on! You're not saying - she couldn't! She would've died!"

Judy went to get up, but Nick put a paw against her chest.

"Whoa, calm down. Your leg's out of commission for at least five more weeks."

Judy slowly sat back, her brows furrowed. But she leaned forward again, raising the blanket up as she looked down at her casted leg.

"I didn't even know it was broken."

"Yeah, just a bit. Your leg really was pretty screwed because of where the bullet hit you. Had it hit you at a different angle, you might've never been able to walk again from the break."

"Cheese and crackers." Judy rubbed her temples. "Okay. . . back to my sister."

"Right, well, she had to recover a bit first before she could do anything for you. The doctors wouldn't let her. But when she could, she did. She's okay now. And you are too." Nick said with a smile.

Judy's tension seemed to leave her joints instantly as she fell back against her pillow. She somehow managed to laugh.

"That was. . . too close. . ." she said. "We. . . really got lucky."

"Yeah, we really did." Nick said, grabbing onto her paw. "Sorry that no one else is here. The doctors did tell us you'd have only a small chance of waking up, though. They all went back to Bunnyburrow."

"Were you the only one still here?" Judy asked. Nick nodded. A smile pricked at the sides of her face. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

"Never would've." Nick said, smiling back. And then, a silence fell over the two. Nick's eyes were looking to the floor, but slowly they looked back up. "Did you mean it?"

Judy looked up in surprise. He looked at her intensely, seeming suddenly nervous.

"What?" Judy asked as he looked away. He went quiet again. There was another long pause. His green eyes darted to her once again.

"When you said you loved me? Or did you just want to go out with a bang?"

There was a look of hope on his face. The rabbit slowly sat back up, being a few inches away from his face now. She reached up and ran one paw slowly along his jaw.

"Of course I meant it." She said with a small smile. A look of relief washed over him.

"Well, I didn't doubt it for a second."

She gave a small laugh.

"I could tell."

A moment later, She pulled him toward her, catching him off guard with a kiss. His eyes widened a little, but then he kissed her back.

Judy sat back against her pillow a few seconds later, a smirk trickling across her face.

"Can you at least warn me first?" Nick asked, squinting. She laughed again. Her relief at the whole situation was overwhelming her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt peaceful. But her ear twitched a little as she suddenly remembered something else.

"So. . . my parents. My name. Everything. I mean. . . what happened?"

"You don't have to worry about your name being cleared anymore. Everyone already knows that you saved Zootopia." Nick shrugged.

"W-what? You're going to just say it all casually like that?" Judy demanded. He glanced back, his usual smirk reappearing on his face.

"Well, after Trine's plans got exposed, everyone found out. Now the collar law is currently up in the air, being discussed. The factories might just shut down permanently, and predators might not be forced to wear collars anymore. This whole fiasco has brought a lot of rioting and spotlight to the collars that wasn't there before."

Judy's eyes widened, and she smiled.

"Nick! That's fantastic!" She said in excitement. "That means. . . that means you're all free!"

"I'm not in the clear entirely yet, but I've been permitted to not wear one because of what we did. Like I said, there's riots, but who knows what the law will decide. Who knew it would take a dumb bunny and a really smart and handsome fox to almost fix everything?" Nick looked at her with a smug grin.

She punched him in his arm.

"And what else?" she asked.

"Trine somehow managed to survive. It's beyond me how. But what matters now is that she's behind bars for good. She admitted to being behind everything, even if you had Bogo to vouch for you. So, you're getting away more than scot-free. We're pretty famous now, Fluff."

"Wow." Judy mumbled in surprise. She hated that zebra with all her heart, as much as she possibly could hate her. For torturing her sister, for nearly killing her parents and Nick and even her. She was going to get what she deserved.

"I can't imagine what'll be waiting for us once word gets around that Judy Hopps, savior of Zootopia, is actually alive."

* * *

"Like something out of a horror movie, it's officially been a month since Zootopia turned into land of the savage, a battleground for any prey who dared to step foot outside their home. In an attempt to take over and become in power, Trinity Zeel had enslaved every predator who wore one of her company's newly designed _Keep-In-Check 9001_ collars."

Judy sat back against the seat of the car, looking out the window as the radio was speaking. A little bit of time had passed since Judy had woken up - she'd stayed at the hospital for an extra week, but now she was ready to go home for a while.

"Judy Hopps, formerly being hunted down as a criminal figured out Zeel's scheme and was able to take her down with the help of Nick Wilde, a predator who, by chance, had been wearing an out-dated collar, and was therefore safe from the chemical injections."

Judy glanced at Nick who had been driving, a smirk surpassing his face when he heard that.

"Together, they were able to out-fox Zeel and her plot. All charges against them have been dropped on behalf of their bravery and bringing Zootopia out of turmoil."

The short news intermission ended, and an overplayed pop song came on. Nick turned it down as he glanced at Judy, who was still staring out the window.

"What are you thinking about?"

She perked up a little when she heard the question. Her violet eyes darted him, and she propped her head up on her paw.

"I don't know. It's just. . . I haven't seen anyone since everything's happened. I don't know what I should expect."

"To be hailed as a hero, just about."

"I'm serious Nick. My parents thought I was insane, not to mention my family had come to turn on me for what I'd done. Now, I have to worry about so much, even though restoring Zootopia isn't on the agenda now." Judy said, glancing down at her cast, moving her leg slightly.

"Fluff, you heard the news. You're a hero in Zootopia, your name entirely cleared with all of the proof on the table that you're innocent. Bogo and Clawhauser were able to entirely cleanse any bad thoughts that people had about you."

Judy glanced at him, anxiety clear in her eyes. He glanced at her, expecting her to say something.

"It just feels. . . not real, almost too good to be true." Judy started, looking back out the window. "I mean. . . is she really gone for good?"

"Well, she'll be having court in a few days, you know. For now, though, yes. . . she's gone. Unless the judge is insane, we'll be living the good life, free of thinking about her."

The rabbit felt her nose twitch. She glanced back at him, feeling a strange discomfort coming over her.

"What about us?"

Nick's ear twitched, and he perked.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how it is." Judy replied. "You know the law."

Nick's grip on the wheel tightened a little.

"Yes. . . I do know the law, but I don't care. Neither should you. All we have to worry about are those who could use it against us or try to get us in trouble."

"But. . ." Judy trailed off uncertainly.

"Are you scared of what your family will say?"

"And yours." Judy said, her nose continuing to twitch. "It's almost unheard of for a fox and a rabbit to. . . to. . ." she felt frustration course through her veins.

"To want to be together? Yeah, so what?"

"How are you so calm about this? You know how bad it is." Judy said pointedly.

"Well, I know. . . but would your family really expose us like that? I mean, I'm not so sure about mine, but still."

"I don't know. Most of them won't, I'm most certain of that, but who knows? Even friends. . . this isn't good. Nick, we could get in so much trouble. I'm sure that anyone back there could've seen. . . animals like Bogo and Clawhauser could've seen, even Trine could've seen. I even told Bogo I loved you way back when. Hopefully he doesn't think too much of that."

Judy looked back out the window, cringing at the thought of her old boss.

"I mean, they were kind of paying more attention to getting out of the building than they were to us. It was our little moment, no one saw or asked me about it."

"And what about the hospital? Even if no one saw us, cameras could've recorded it."

"They don't have them in patients' rooms."

Judy just sighed.

"Nick, we're not. . . telling anyone. We can't tell _anyone_ about this, not even those we think we can trust, because they might try and hurt us. At least. . . for now."

There was a tranquility in the car that followed. Nick's tensity seemed to leave him as he slacked back, resting one paw on Judy's leg.

"That's okay. No one has to know."

She looked at him, placing a paw on his.

"I mean. . . we should be allowed to openly talk about it, but it's just. . . complicated."

In the back of her mind, it had nibbled at her. Predator and prey couples were not a thing that was allowed. Those who did were shunned by society, or went off the radar and lived in secret on the outskirts of Zootopia somewhere. It was a true rarity to find relationships like that, and Judy had always laughed in the faces of prey who were stupid enough to put themselves in a situation like that. She loved seeing them get prosecuted for it. It was considered an extreme crime, though not one seen so often. The law was in place to try and keep any 'mistake children' from happening, hybrids that would be both predator and prey and essentially, would be shunned from society for who they were.

Predators had been forced to wear collars since her great-grandparent's parents were kids, and the law against predator and prey being together had been in place since Zootopia came to be.

She wasn't so concerned before when they'd been reunited in the hospital. In fact, she couldn't keep her paws off of him, and she had not a worry when Nick was by her side.

A law like that would be especially hard on Nick and Judy, who would now be in the eye of the public for good.

"You're zoning out again." Nick said. Judy gasped, turning back to him.

"Huh?"

"I said we're here."

The car had stopped, and Nick had just turned it off.

"I almost don't want to go in there." Judy mumbled.

"Why's that?"

"I. . ." Judy hesitated, and then her cheeks felt warm. "I'm not ready to stop kissing you."

Nick just smirked for a moment before he responded, a serious look coming over his face.

"They really would rat us out?"

"I don't think so, but even still, we're not immune from the law because of what we did, Nicholas."

She felt a stun creep up her back when he reached for her chin, angling her toward him. One claw was pressed gently on her bottom lip.

"I know that, but I don't want to think about it. This is our time to celebrate and be happy. I know you're nervous, but let's not think about it right now. I'm confident that we'll be fine. _You_ will be fine. You're overthinking this whole reunion. Don't worry, we're still going to go on that date we talked about so long ago."

Nick reached forward. Judy's heart beat a little faster whenever she kissed him. Him, the fox who had changed everything about her. The fox who made her into a better mammal.

She felt disappointment wash over her when he pulled away and started to get out of the car.

A moment later he came to open her door, crutches in paw after he retrieved them from the backseat. Once she got onto her feet, the anxiety crept up on her again.

"There's so much I want to do." Nick glanced at her as she went forward. "We might've stopped that nightmare, but there's things left unfinished that must be resolved."

"Like what?" Nick asked.

"Well, for one. . . I've been thinking of. . ." she trailed off, hesitating. "I've been thinking of that orphanage you grew up in."

Nick's ears perked a little.

"What about it? You didn't mention that til now."

"I don't want to see predators suffering anymore. Finnick told me some things that happened when you lived there. I don't even want to think about what could possibly be happening there now." Judy frowned. "It's not right."

She paused when she noticed Nick had stopped. Her eyes fell on him, and a smile had spread across his face.

"It's times like these that I know us meeting was fate."

Judy smiled back.

He hadn't left her side, not once since she'd woken up. Not once were any news outlets permitted to come into the hospital - he wouldn't allow it. Neither of them wanted to be bothered, yet he'd taken care of that all by himself. They wouldn't be left alone for much longer though. News hosts from all around Zootopia were dying to get an interview with her, and she had one scheduled in a few days and quite a few in the next upcoming weeks.

She wanted more things to change around Zootopia, for the better.

She was seriously stressing, ever since she'd left the hospital. The moment she'd left, news casts nearly engulfed Nick and her into their crowd since they weren't allowed inside the hospital. Judy had truly not expected a response like that, and it was overwhelming to have so much energy hitting her all at once.

The entire time of that ordeal she hadn't been able to speak a single word, too stunned by so many flashing lights to even manage a singular thought. Thankfully though an escort had been waiting outside with a car, and some police officers were there too. Prior to the court date she would have in the next week, she would also be giving a public speech with Bogo.

She was nervous about even meeting up with him after everything that happened. The fear she'd felt in her near final moments of life due to the death penalty was something she hadn't forgotten.

And then, there was another matter she had to think about, which was her sister. She had told Nick her secret - how she had traded her sister for her own safety, not knowing the consequences as a very young child. It had been guilt that hung over her for fifteen years, and she knew she would have to tell her at some point. Would she do it now? Perhaps not.

She even had already fed into her own paranoia, overthinking the fact that none of her family members had come to visit her when they heard she woke up. Telling them what she'd done to April would only cause them to hate her more than they might already hate her. She promised herself she wouldn't talk about it yet.

"You going to ring the door bell?" Nick asked, and Judy finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh. . ." she said, realizing they were on the porch.

She reached forward, hesitating just for a moment, but that's when she saw the door was slightly cracked open. Immediately she looked at Nick, who could only offer a disgruntled shrug.

"Why is it open?" she whispered under her breath, even though she knew he had no idea either.

"Only one way to find out."

Even he was thrown off by it.

Slowly he pushed open the door, and she followed in behind him.

"Where are they?" she asked him, as though he was supposed to know.

Her body was all tensed up, and she felt like at any moment a predator would come barreling out, threatening to kill them both in its mind-controlled state. She was shivering just thinking about it.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nick asked, tone clearly concerned. She turned when he put a paw on her shoulder. "It's okay. We're not alone anymore, remember?"

"How did you know I was thinking about that?" she looked at him in surprise.

"Well, I was thinking about it, too." She noticed he'd been talking quietly the whole time. "But I saw that distant look in your eyes, and I just knew."

"Well. . . you were right." She said, lowering her voice, too. "Not to mention it's dark in here. What is this?"

Nick and her proceeded, peeking into the massive living room with its bountiful amount of couches to fit every child. The sun had just set before they had gotten there, so no light was to be found in the house.

Judy reached forward hesitantly, flicking on the light.

A moment later, a simultaneous roar of voices sang together, mammals popping up from behind every couch and around every corner.

"Welcome home!" the collective boom of voices rang.

The prey and predator, who had both gone immediately on the confused defense, were startled nearly half to death. Balloons and streamers flew through the air, landing around everyone.

Judy held a paw over her mouth, somehow managing not to scream in shock, though her fur felt like it was sticking on end.

"Judy!"

She was still surprised as her parents ran forward. Arms wrapped around her, engulfing her in warmth. She finally seemed to snap out of her mind, which had started to go somewhere completely elsewhere than where she was now.

"We're so happy to see you." Her father said.

"We thought you were dead." Her mother chimed in, squeezing her tighter.

"I thought you two were dead too." She responded breathlessly.

"Just look at you. You're a changed rabbit." Mrs. Hopps said when they finally broke away from the hug. A moment later, siblings from all over seemed to swarm in, the youngest ones all came first, and then the older ones all hugged her.

The hug from Lucille made her feel notably good. The hatred that was once there was gone, no trace of malice left in her face. She took a step back and got out of the way.

Then, she looked forward to see April.

She looked to be in fairly good shape, though she had one arm in a sling. That didn't stop her from running forward to throw her free arm around her sister.

Judy only hugged back, trying to push away the incredible feelings of guilt that had washed over her unexpectedly. She was able to a moment later once the hug was over, and she finally felt like pressure had been alleviated off of her.

Immediately her sister turned to Nick, who was standing a few feet away and watching with a smile. She prompted him to come over. He did so wordlessly.

A moment later, her free arm around him. "Thank you so much!" she said, sounding choked up. "If it hadn't been for you two and Clawhauser, I would probably be dead."

Nick and Judy looked at one another for a moment.

"We're just glad you're safe." Nick reassured, smiling.

Once April had backed away, the Hopps family seemed to immediately swarm Nick.

Judy managed a laugh while he was being pushed around.

"There's enough Nick to go around, not all at once, though!" he said as the tiniest ones began to climb on his head.

Judy watched in admiration, but a moment later her eyes slowly began to travel across the room. She saw Finnick, who was just shaking his head at the sight of Nick trying to pull bunnies off of his head. Crystal, a name Judy hadn't thought of in ages, was standing next to him. She waved when she saw Judy watching her, and the rabbit sent one back. Even Clawhauser was there. Finally, her eyes landed on a mammal she didn't expect to see.

It was true that Judy had been mentally preparing for the day she would have to meet Bogo face to face again. Immediately she'd looked away, feeling a bit panicked. Yes, it was true he had helped to clear her name with Clawhauser, but she couldn't even look him in the eye. All she could see in her mind was needles and restraints and coldness.

She glanced away, pretending she was alright when Judy's parents finally started talking again.

"Who knew that there was someone out there who could change my daughter's opinions?" Mr. Hopps was saying. "Ever since she was a child, the hate of predators just manifested in her ever since her sister disappeared. But you changed that. Thank you."

Nick stared in shock, pawing the back of his neck.

"I didn't exactly change her. She did it herself." He looked at her, a grin clear on his face.

She felt the tightness in her chest lighten up a little as she gave a sheepish smile back.

"Oh, honey, I forgot to tell you that we're eating your favorite tonight." Mrs. Hopps said, grasping onto Judy's paw.

"Roasted carrot squash and sweet potato soup with a side of steamed carrots, and carrot cake for dessert?" she asked in amazement.

"You betcha." Her mother replied, smiling.

"Wow. . . you. . . don't have to do all of this for me." She said.

"Of course we do. Dinner will be ready soon, so I hope you two are hungry." Mrs. Hopps went on. "Judy. . . we are so, so proud of you for what you were able to accomplish. Doing what you did? Very few could do, and it even made you into a better person."

Judy stared in surprise at her mother's words. Though a smile eventually came over her expression.

"Thank you Mom, but I couldn't have done it without him." She glanced at Nick. "He saved my life quite a few times out there. I owe so much to him."

She felt her paw grab onto his.

"Judy, you're embarrassing me." He said with a defined smirk.

She was looking up at him, her cheeks glowing with warmth.

But she cast her eyes out among the crowd again when her peripherals picked up movement. A silence seemed to overtake the room when Bogo approached.

Judy's smile involuntarily slipped off of her face.

For one, she didn't feel ready to speak to him. She knew that he felt differently now. She knew that she was wrongly prosecuted and that she no longer was a wanted criminal, so why was her stomach twisting?

"I would like to speak with them alone, if that's alright?"

Judy squeezed her eyes shut at the question directed toward her parents.

"Oh. . . well, of course. Everyone out! Come on now."

Judy knew this meeting was supposed to happen much sooner than she had allowed it to be. He had come twice prior to visit the hospital, but Judy didn't let him. She didn't want anyone to visit her. She just wanted to be alone with Nick.

The two of them took a seat on one of the long couches, while Bogo simply pulled up a chair that was a bit too small.

"It's nice to see you again. You know, not under the same circumstances of death or anything." Nick started awkwardly.

Judy could remember that conversation from long ago so vividly. How Bogo had apologized, and Judy had said she'd forgiven him - but as time went by, she realized that wasn't the case at all. There was something inside her that made her fear being around him. Truly in that moment, she had been too thankful for being alive that she didn't care what she said, but now that things were back to the way they were and different. . . she was discovering how she actually felt in the aftermath.

"Likewise. I realize that I had made a major mistake, a flaw in all my reasoning. I know now that I should have listened to Clawhauser, but I didn't, and I can never recover from my decision." Bogo started. "I wish I would have known then what I know now."

Judy started in uncertainty, casting her gaze aside when she didn't know what to say.

"Um. . . well. . . it was a bit traumatic for me, as you could imagine." She said, nose twitching a mile a minute.

"I know. I said it back then, but I'll say it again now. Hopps, Judy, I'm sorry that I doubted you and put you in that position."

Judy stared, unable to answer. Her mouth felt dry. She could see his genuineness shining through, and she wanted to be able to fully accept the apology, but she also felt something holding her back. But she pushed away that feeling. She looked him in the eye.

"I accept your apology, but. . . not so sure if my emotional scars do quite yet." She said anxiously. Bogo only sighed through his nose, nodding slowly.

"I see. I understand. How are you doing now, though? I realize you turned me away from visiting you, but the reason I came was not to interrogate you, but instead I wanted to warn you about the press."

"Oh, yeah. . . I'm okay. But I'm. . . pretty nervous to even be. . ." she felt her voice fail her. "I'm. . . just nervous to even be out in public again."

"That's understandable. I'm sure the two of you haven't exactly completely mentally recovered from the ordeal." Bogo reasoned.

"Yeah. . . you're not kidding." Nick huffed. "I still feel like I have to skulk around."

"It was scary to be all alone in that. There's so many prey, yet we ran into just about none during it all." Judy said with a shiver. "It was like they were all dead."

"There should have been more of them around." Nick glanced at Judy. She only nodded in agreement.

"We interviewed many prey, and the response was either they were able to get out of Downtown, or they hid well enough where no one would find them." Bogo shrugged. "Aside from that, you two were the only ones attempting to do anything during that time."

Judy and Nick just shared a look.

"Well. . . someone had to do it." Nick smiled at her.

"Yeah." She smiled back, resting her head against him.

There was quiet, and then it was gone.

"Judy, I have a question for you." She didn't move, but her eyes flitted back to Bogo. "I know what I've said and done in the past, but I wanted to inquire about you still being on the force. Even to a promoted role for what you've done. You may have to lay low for a while since you're considered a celebrity now, of course, and until you're fully healed, but I truly want somebody like you with us."

She looked up at Nick, and then back at Bogo.

This whole mess began with her dream. Her dream of putting wild predators in their place and keeping Zootopia safe from the evils of which predators would bring. Nick helped her in the beginning because he wanted her to follow that dream.

She had hardly even thought about her career during the terror and the horror. She took a breath in.

"I always will want to be an officer. It was my original goal to protect Zootopia. . . but for the entirely wrong reasons. I wanted to protect prey from predators, but now I want to protect everyone from the bad."

Bogo's serious expression melted into a smile at her response.

"Hopps, it truly is shocking how much of a one-eighty you've taken since I first met you."

Judy felt her own smile appear.

"I just wish I had realized sooner that predators aren't bad just because they're predators. If Trine taught me anything, it's that prey can commit horrible crimes, too. We're equal." Nick only nodded in agreement, his arms crossed and eyes closed. "But I want to make one request. I'd like Nick to join the police force, too." At this, Nick's eyes flashed open.

"Uh, what did you say?"

"You heard me."

"A fox doesn't belong on the force. There's no fox cops." Nick said reasonably.

"Well, you do." She looked back at Bogo. "Could he?"

The two waited on edge. Judy clasped her paws together, hopeful of the chief's answer. He only stared at the two, before sighing.

"He would have to undergo training and other protocols, but yes. . . if he would like to."

"Boom!" Judy said, glancing at Nick with glee, punching him in the arm lightly.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I have to watch out for this one. She loves getting into trouble." Nick said, smiling. Judy's face lit up even more. It was like a dream come true. She had hardly even noticed how lighthearted she was acting around Bogo, who she had previously been scared to face again. It was true that she still would have to deal with those horrible memories, but she just had to remind herself that Bogo wasn't that same ice cold mammal she'd been faced with minutes before her death sentence being carried out.

"We'll have to discuss your upcoming interviews soon, but we can save that for later. You two relax. There's a lot that will be coming up ahead."

Judy and Nick didn't say anything as Bogo left the room.

" _Really_? I'm a cop now?" Nick demanded.

"Yeah, and you're going to be my partner." Judy smirked at him. "Maybe things really aren't going to be as bad as I was thinking. Maybe everything is going to really be okay."

"I told you they would be." Nick replied. Judy stared up at him.

"The best part is that we'll be able to always be together." She said, her cheeks feeling warm.

One paw reached up and brushed along the side of her face.

"Yeah. . . you're right, even though I'll mostly be babysitting you and making sure you aren't getting into more messes."

" _Babysitting_?" she grabbed onto his paw, pushing it away playfully. "Babysitting? This is _all_ it's going to be to you?"

"Obviously." He rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the amusement in them. "Maybe one day we'll actually be babysitting."

Judy only laughed, until she realized what he meant, and she froze. He only laughed at the expression on her face.

"You're an idiot!" She punched his arm again, harder this time.

"Ow! Hey, listen, it's totally possible to adopt! Don't you ever want that?"

She went to punch him again, but stopped herself this time.

"Well. . . I. . ." she trailed off. "Of course, but not right now. We haven't even had a first real date yet."

"Don't have to to say that we're dating." He bopped her nose. She felt her entire body heat up as she frowned.

"But it feels weird to say that without a date."

"Who cares? We're obviously making our own rules now." Nick said, leaning closer.

"Yeah?" Judy leaned in as well. "I guess that makes sense, but I still want one before I start calling you the b-word."

Their faces were nearly brushing.

"Have you ever called anyone the b-word?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. . . one guy in high school. I haven't seen him since we graduated. It was. . . pretty awkward when we broke up." She gave a shrug.

"Oh, you guys are talking about _that_ b-word. I thought you meant the other one."

Nick and Judy both jumped back from each other, and both their heads turned.

"Oh! Clawhauser. . . it's just you." Judy said, her heart in her throat.

"Yeah, sorry about that! I wasn't eavesdropping, I just was coming to tell you dinner was ready." He said, a friendly smile on his face. "Are you still gonna be a cop?"

"Yeah, and she somehow got me dragged into it too." Nick said, sliding off the seat.

"That's great!" Clawhauser said with a smile.

Judy was already back on her crutches when Clawhauser came out of almost nowhere. She let out a squeak when she felt arms wrap around her. She was put back down a moment later, almost stumblig off the crutches that she hadn't let go of.

"I'm glad you're okay Judy, you and April both. Oh, you too Nick." Clawhauser said. "Can't wait to start working with you buddy!"

"Yeah, me either." Nick said, smiling back.

"And by the way. . . you two just make the greatest partners. Seriously, we looked back through security cam footage and you guys did some crazy stuff. And did you know that one of the train stations blew up out of nowhere? All the security cameras lost their footage because they got destroyed in the explosion, but seriously, it must've been wild!"

"Oh. . . haha. . . _yeaaah_. . ." Nick said awkwardly. Judy only uncomfortably chuckled along with him. Finally, Clawhauser turned and disappeared through the door frame.

"I was going to ask you if you ever called anyone the g-word." Judy said, once she was certain he was gone.

"Oh _yeah_ , a _bunch_ of times. I was a total player." He said sarcastically. "But seriously? No."

"That's surprising." Judy said, blinking.

"I know. I'm just too hot to be single for my whole life."

"That's true." Judy agreed.

"Alright. I'm starving, let's get food." Nick said, and Judy followed after him.

Judy couldn't hide the smile on her face that she had throughout dinner.

Things really were looking up after all.

* * *

So... it's really been a while.

As repayment for my sins of not updating sooner, this is the longest chapter yet at over 7,000 words.

The truth is, I've written and rewritten this chapter quite a few times. One of those rewrites included an actual ending to this story. I thought I was going to end the story here, if I'm honest. I wanted to wrap up this fanfic with one last major chapter, but... once the writer's block cleared up, I realized I wasn't so done yet.

In fact, I even have a sequel in mind that I plotted out to this story, and honestly, writing this chapter was difficult because I juuust wanted to jump to the fun stuff that I want to write in the next story.

With that being said... honestly, would anyone even be _interested_ in a second story? I want to do it so bad, honestly. Even if I don't put it up here, I'm going to write it for my own satisfaction. If anyone would be interested, let me know. I might just keep updating this specific fic with the endeavors of this second story I've thought of making (maybe you could tell what it would be about from the tons of hints I dropped in this chapter here).

ANYWAYS back to the _current story._ I'm not sure when I'm going to update. Honestly, there could only be 1 or possibly 2 more chapters of this, a wrap up to the story that closes everything off nicely. (I mean, I can't kill my legends Judy and Nick off, lol) But honestly, I really might post a second story to this one. And I really want to know, would anyone really be interested in a second story with an entirely different plot? A lot of my writing inspiration has come back. Like I said, even if I don't post it here, I'll still be writing it. It's just a matter of if anyone's interested or not.

Anywho, I'll see you guys in the next chapter, which hopefully will be soon. Let me know your thoughts on a second story! Peace.


	24. Final Author Update

Hey guys!

Sorry to give you all a notification of an update, only for it to just me little old me talking with just a few things to say. (stay tuned, there's something important directly involving the readers near the end)

With the final chapter coming soon, I just wanted to take the time to talk to you guys. Honestly, I've already written so much material for this next chapter that I could probably split it up into two, and depending on how much more comes, possibly three chapters, but I don't want to do that. So, this next chapter coming up is going to be one _huge chapter,_ the biggest yet. I just want to make sure to add in _everything_ needed, and clear up things in the past that may have seemed strange.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting my story! I published this story in 2016 which is pretty crazy since it'll be 2019 soon. I know the story went on a pretty long hiatus at one point and I think I lost a lot of people's interest due to that, but life kinda gets insane sometimes. So to the ones who have stuck with me this whole time, I thank you!

It's also kind of been a while since I've actually responded to your guys' reviews (shame on me) but just know that I read them and I love them. They make my heart warm and also make me die laughing sometimes. Even the ones that have criticism make me happy because it helps me to improve my writing and really gets my mind going to wonder how I could've done things better. Trust me, there's quite a few things in this story I would have written differently had it been published in 2018. I did tons of experimenting with this, and this story was way different than anything I've ever done (as will be the sequel, honestly). Just know that I've been reading everything and I appreciate any words you've given me, because it's helped me become a better writer who tries to think from the audience point of view more often now.

Oh, and since you guys said that you'd like to see a second story, the second installment will be posted on here. Even though I say this is the final author update, once I post the second story I'll update you all here to let you know it's up. I'll give a better estimate about when it will be up once I actually post the final chapter, but I'm thinking "soon."

 **And now, here's where you guys can get more involved.**

Okay, with all of that out of the way, here's one of the reasons I actually thought about writing all of this (if you're still here, I commend you) - there will be a part in the next chapter where Judy and Nick will be interviewed (April too, but are that many people interested in OCs? I guess we'll find out!). If there's any questions that _you_ guys would like to ask them, this is the opportunity to do so! All you have to do is leave a review with your question (but also let me know who it's directed toward, lol). You can ask just about anything you'd like and as many questions as you'd like, as long as it doesn't break the fourth wall or anything like that! I'm doing this because honestly, this story would be nowhere without you guys, so here's my way of giving back a bit! I really do appreciate you all. If I get a lot I might not be able to include _every_ question, but I'm going to try my best! (that is, if I even get any haha)

Oh yeah, one last thing. If you guys have any questions for me personally (just make sure to indicate again that it's for me! because knowing me, I'll end up thinking that the questions for me are actually for the characters...) then I'll answer them at the end of the chapter.

Again, thanks so much for your support you guys! I'll be accepting questions until Oct 24th. (That means the chapter should be out pretty soon after that!)

I hope you all have a nice day, and I'll see you real soon!


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